


Lands of Termina

by Battler127



Category: RWBY, The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Blood and Violence, Character Development, Characters to be added, Dark Moments ahead, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Exploration, Fluff and Humor, Injury, Jaune is Link, Light-Hearted, Not Really Character Death, POV Third Person, Scars, Temporary Character Death, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-31
Updated: 2020-12-18
Packaged: 2021-01-15 16:01:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 125,046
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21255983
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Battler127/pseuds/Battler127
Summary: Jaune was off on his way to Vale to enter Beacon and start his journey to become a Huntsmen, however on his way he was robbed of a family heirloom and ended up chasing the thief to a world known as Termina. Now stuck in a cycle of repeating three days, will he end up saving the world or will all of Termina die? … He should’ve stayed home.





	1. No Longer in Remnant

**Author's Note:**

> Heh, another story from my Fanfiction Account, this one is one of my more popular ones and it has eleven chapters with the twelfth soon to come, but I'm only posting two right now, more will come soon.

** _Legends._ **

** _Stories._ **

** _Myths._ **

** _Whether they’re true or not, many people pass them on through each and every generation, some of them embellished as tales of Heroes and Villains lay scattered throughout time._ **

** _But eventually they are forgotten and fade through the harsh reality of the world and replaced with new ones that will undoubtedly follow in their footsteps._ **

** _Such as when Remnant was once called Hyrule or how a single hero clad in green with nothing more than a shield and sword appeared to challenge all that stands in his way._ **

** _The Hero was what they called him, for his true name was forgotten and though each one was a different person they were often mistaken as the same._ **

** _But he also had different titles._ **

** _The Hero of Hyrule._ **

** _Hero of the Skies._ **

** _Hero of Legend._ **

** _Hero of Time._ **

** _Hero of Light._ **

** _Hero of the Minish._ **

** _Walker of Winds._ **

** _Hero’s Shade._ **

** _Goddess Knight._ **

** _Hero of the Wild._ **

** _It goes on and on and only a few remnants of his history remain within deep ruins._ **

** _But now the time for a new hero is upon us and fate has decreed on who it will be._ **

** _The only thing to see is if this one will survive the trials of the Forgotten Lands before he is ready to make his mark upon the world of Remnant._**

* * *

“Ow.” A voice muttered as a blonde haired, blue eyed seventeen year old teenager tripped over a root, wearing a black hoodie with some armor on it and blue jeans, a sword sheathed to his hip.

Jaune Arc shook his head and pushed himself up, pulling a map out in complete confusion.

“This doesn’t make any sense.” Jaune muttered as he was in an unfamiliar part of the forest outside of his hometown.

He’s been through this forest plenty of times-enough to where he made his own map, never once getting lost and he has never seen this area before.

It was also one of the quickest ways to get to the nearest town before he heads to Vale to try and register for Beacon.

Beacon Academy being the prestigious school for Huntsmen and Huntresses alike-warriors who protect the innocent.

But now Jaune was incredibly lost-which even he thought was stupid as the forest wasn’t this big before-or this foggy.

“It feels like the beginning of one of those bad adventure tales Dad used to read to me.” Jaune muttered with a hint of amusement placing his map back in his bag.

He was tensed and ready to pull his sword out if need be but he was nervous.

Truth be told he didn’t have any sort of training with a sword at all-being the youngest of seven siblings left for him to be protected a lot-which he thought was stupid as he wanted to try and be a hero like a lot of people in his family were.

“Come on Jaune just keep calm, the Grimm were recently cleared out of this forest.” Jaune tried to calm himself down as that was the very reason he chose to sneak out through the forest as it was a shortcut to town.

Although it wouldn’t be too unusual for there to be a stray or two that survived.

It was times like these that he envied the Faunus for their Night Vision-although he immediately felt bad considering how they’re usually treated by other humans.

“Stop stalling just move on and get out of the forest.” Jaune had a grin, not seeing two balls of light floating above him in the tree’s, one white and one purple.

Hearing some twigs snap, Jaune turned to see nothing and sighed.

He really needed to think more positively, didn’t one of his sisters tell him that the creatures of Grimm are attracted because of negativity?

So he reached into his bag and pulled out a blue instrument, an Ocarina he recalled.

This Ocarina has been in his family for generations alongside Crocea Mors, his weapon and it was given to him by his Dad along with some songs that he was taught.

Raising the instrument to his lips, Jaune began to play a small melody while walking-what was it called again? Oh right Saria’s Song-he was never told why it was called that but it was one of his favorite songs to play.

It was oddly fitting in this forest and it did uplift his spirits-the fog also seemed to clear up a bit if he was paying any attention while walking.

However as he continued, the two orbs of light suddenly flew in front of Jaune making him hit a shrill note in fear as he stumbled back, tripping on another root before slamming his head into a tree being knocked out.

After a few moments, a third figure appeared from the woods-first only a mask could be seen in the shape of a heart with jagged spikes on the end the mask itself was purple with huge orange eyes.

As it got closer a body followed showing a child with red tunic-like shirt with leaf-like bracers on his arms and leaf-like shorts.

The masked kid gave quite the creepy laugh before lifting the mask to show a creature that wasn’t faunus or human, but had a beak on his face as well and orange eyes full of mischief. “Hee hee, you two fairies did great!” He said with a creepy smile. “I wonder if he has anything good on him.”

With that said he placed the mask back on his face and slowly walked up to Jaune, being careful just in case he wasn’t really out before he reached him and lightly kicked him.

There was a groan but he didn’t open his eyes showing that he was alive but out.

His eyes however were drawn to the Ocarina in his hands and the kid grabbed it curiously.

“Ooh, ooh! What a pretty Ocarina.” The Purple Fairy said in awe at it. “Hey Skull Kid, lemme touch it, I wanna see.”

As Skull Kid blew a note in the Ocarina the white fairy lightly tapped the purple one. “You can’t, Tael.” She said to the younger fairy. “What would we do if you dropped it and broke it?! No way you can touch it.”

Tael’s wings drooped in sadness. “Aw but sis, why can’t I try it out too?” He asked in slight dejection.

As Skull Kid continued to try other notes out, none of them noticed Jaune opening his eyes and raising a hand to his pounding head.

“What just-?” Jaune whispered before hearing the Ocarina and looked to see a masked kid with his back turned messing with it.

Jaune slowly got up catching Tael and his sister’s attention making them tense and make ringing noises from their bodies.

Skull Kid blinked in confusion at them before slowly turning to see Jaune and jumped, hiding the Ocarina behind his back. “Oh hey, lovely night isn’t it?”

Jaune shook his head. “Uh I guess?” He said not sure what was going on. "Do you mind giving me my Ocarina back please?”

While he was pretty sure that wouldn’t work as this seemed more like a robbery from the stories he read he was willing to try the polite and pacifist way first.

“What Ocarina?” Skull Kid feigned despite knowing fully well what he was talking about.

“Come on this isn’t funny, that’s a gift from my Dad.” Jaune said as he didn’t want to lose it.

Skull Kid gave a rather creepy laugh that made Jaune tense. “Is that so? Well I might give it back,” With that said he jumped high into the air, to a nearby tree branch. “If you can catch me sucker!”

With that said he ran-the two fairies right behind him and Jaune was immediately on him, jumping over the tree roots as he didn’t have time to be careful.

He was already on thin ice as it is with running away to become a Huntsman, his Dad will kill him if he lost that Ocarina-.

Jaune was unprepared when Skull Kid shot down from above and kicked him into a tree stump before running off through a large log that was on the wall a shadow hiding what was behind it.

“Ow, okay that kid is tough.” Jaune muttered rubbing his head as he felt something sticky in his hair showing that he was now bleeding before he felt something poking his leg.

Looking down, he was surprised to see a green gem-like item. “The heck?”

Despite being curious he needed to focus so he grabbed it to inspect later and ran after Skull Kid coming to a clearing where there was a path of stumps going higher heading into a cave up above.

“Okay seriously where did this place come from?” Jaune muttered in slight annoyance.

It was like it appeared overnight.

Seeing as how Skull Kid only had one place to go, Jaune began to run to the stumps using them to jump from one to the other, nearly losing his balance on a few of them before he made it to the cave.

He ran in, coming to a complete stop when he came across a huge pit trying to regain his balance but this time he was unable to and began to fall. “Oh dust!” Jaune screamed in slight fear sounding like a girl-despite how he would forever deny that if anyone else asked.

As he fell however, Jaune swore he saw faces made of light flying past him and his left hand began to emit a soft glow before he somehow landed safely on a giant flower in the middle of a shallow pond.

“I-I’m alive?” Jaune muttered his heart hammering against his chest.

A bright light shone on Jaune as he raised an arm to cover it before he saw Skull Kid freaking levitating as he threw the Ocarina up and down with the two fairies next to him. “Did you just scream like a girl?” He asked in a teasing voice full of mirth.

“N-No,” Jaune denied before narrowing his eyes at the thief. “Now give me back the Ocarina.”

“Stubborn aren’t you? I’ll admit I’m impressed that you managed to keep up with me to chase me here.” Skull Kid said offhandedly, not caring at how Jaune had enough, his patience a bit short from the head injury as he unsheathed Crocea Mors, turning the sheath into a shield. “Oh please like you scare me, do you even know how to use that weapon?”

Jaune felt a flicker of uncertainty at that, but he tensed in preparation.

Skull Kid saw the uncertainty and chuckled. “I’d just thought I would have a little fun with you but then you proved very persistent,” He said his voice taking a darkened edge to it. “Do you really believe you can beat me as I am now? Fool!”

Jaune will admit that the way his voice changed had him scared, but he got ready to charge before stumbling as Skull Kid’s mask started to shake a weird type of energy coming from it.

The next thing Jaune knew he was weaponless in a dark room with these weird plant-like creatures crowding him, all of them having open, circular mouths.

Taking a step back, Jaune ran thinking they were Grimm and he was hoping to find his weapons, but he ended up running into a giant one that breathed in, sucking him in and just like that he was back.

Skull Kid blinked and looked closer as Jaune’s form was different.

Seeing the confusion, Jaune looked down in the pond to see his reflection and noted with some fear that he looked like one of those plant creatures from the small dream with orange eyes, an open circular mouth. At least his clothes remained the same and changed to fit his body, the hood of his hoodie pulled over his head.

Still this was humiliating.

Skull Kid threw his head back and laughed. “Hee hee, now that’s a good look for you.”

Jaune went to shout at him, demand he be changed back, but only unintelligible noises came out showing that this form spoke quite differently from humans and he came to a terrifying conclusion. 

He didn’t know how to talk like this.

That only made Skull Kid laugh harder.

“You’ll stay here looking like that forever.” Skull Kid began to float away.

Seeing that, Jaune went to run after him noting he didn’t have Crocea Mors anymore but the white fairy stayed behind and slammed into his head knocking him down.

The fairy then blew a raspberry at Jaune to add insult to that injury not noticing how Skull Kid and Tael were now past the stone door that just opened-Tael however noticed. “S-S-Sis!”

The white fairy turned right as soon as the door closed making her panic. “Whoa! Whoa! Skull Kid I’m still here,” She shouted rushing towards the door. “Tael, you can’t leave without me!”

She tackled the door a few times, her wings drooping before turning in anger.

“You!” She flew right at Jaune who just pushed himself up, tackling him again to knock him down once more. “If I wasn’t dealing with you I wouldn’t have gotten separated from my brother. Well don’t just sit there Deku Boy, do something!”

Ignoring the ‘Deku’ comment Jaune looked at the fairy incredulously before getting angry.

This creature helped robbed him, nearly killed him with his head injury and stood there while her ‘friend’ turned him into this-this-creature and now she’s blaming him?!

Jaune might be a nice guy normally, but he was rightfully pissed off.

“Why are you looking at me like that? What is there something stuck on my face?” The fairy asked mistaking Jaune’s angry look for confusion. “Will you stop staring and just open that door for me?! Come on a helpless, little girl is asking-.”

She stopped and flew high when Jaune went to swat her.

You did this to me! He wanted to shout but what came out was “Y d is o e!”

Needless to say, this angered the fairy. “Hey! What’s the big idea just picking on a helpless little girl?!”

Jaune just glared.

Yeah, this coming from the creature that tackled him twice not even a minute ago.

The fairy went quiet as she thought about it. “Okay maybe I deserve a few swats,” She said meekly now realizing the position she was in. “But the longer you mess with me, the quicker Skull Kid will get away.”

That did it as Jaune wanted to get his Ocarina back and get back to normal.

So with a glare at the fairy, Jaune walked to the door, but he heard her mutter. “Oh Tael, I do hope he’s alright.”

Remembering how this ‘Tael’ called her Sis, some of Jaune’s anger evaporated as he knew how siblings cared for each other.

“Ne.” Jaune tried to say fine but it came out like that.

Upon touching the door, Jaune began to use his now incredibly short and stubby hands to try and open it.

This wasn’t good, they’ll be trapped here if this doesn’t open-.

A part of the door pressed in when Jaune touched it and it opened, allowing for him and the fairy to traverse through the dark hallway but he ran on ahead in an effort to make up for lost time, but his short legs made running pretty hard as he wasn’t exactly used to this body yet.

“Hey wait for me,” The fairy flew right in front of Jaune when he reached another room, standing on top of a flower like the one in the pond with the door on the other side of the room, where he couldn’t exactly jump over there in his current condition. “Don’t leave me behind.”

The fairy floated there, her wings twitched a bit as she tried to think about what to say, while Jaune took a step back for some personal space.

“Um… That stuff back there, I apologize.” The fairy muttered, showing she had no experience at all apologizing to people. “So… Take me with you.”

Jaune just stared at the fairy.

It’s joking right?

The fairy could tell what Jaune was thinking this time considering everything that just happened, so she quickly spoke up. “You wanna know more about that Skull Kid who just ran off right?” She asked catching Jaune’s attention. “Well, I just so happen to have an idea of where he might be going. Take me with you and I’ll help you out, deal?”

Jaune continued to stare as he thought it over.

It’s true, he had no clue on where this Skull Kid was going and what’s more without this fairy he might forever be stuck.

He could barely move-let alone fight without stumbling like this, he can’t even speak normally and he had no idea where he was or exactly what was going on.

As much as he hates to admit it, he needs help and can’t afford to be picky about who is helping him.

That doesn’t mean he was going to suddenly just trust this thing with what happened, but he had no choice.

So Jaune gave a nod, accepting the deal and could tell the Fairy looked relieved from how fast she flew around him. “Good then it’s settled, I’ll be your partner from here on, or at least until we catch Skull Kid.”

Jaune wasn’t so sure about her suddenly being his ‘partner’ but he gave a nod.

“My name’s Tatl, so nice to meet you or whatever.” Tatl said a bit awkwardly.

Now Jaune knew if he had a mouth it would be smirking in an attempt not to laugh.

Her name was Tatl and her brother was called Tael?

There were so many jokes he could think of.

“Uh, I guess we should teach you how to talk like this,” Tatl said catching Jaune’s attention. “We’ll figure something out later, so come on Deku Boy, let’s first teach you a pretty cool thing you can do like this.”

Jaune tilted his head as Tatl motioned for him to get on the flower before he gave a cry that sounded like a cat having its tail being stepped on-as he was sucked into it.

“Alright just hold for a few seconds.” Tatl called in with Jaune not sure what was going on. “Now imagine being released.”

Jaune immediately shot into the air holding two flower petals that were spinning-. Was he flying?!

For some reason his motion sickness wasn’t activating as he did this before he realized that he was slowly losing air.

So it wasn’t flying but more like gliding-.

Now he knew what to do.

Jaune quickly made his way across the cavern and landed right next to the door with Tatl giving a nod. “Not bad for a new Scrub.” She gave a slight compliment.

Jaune beamed a bit, some of his anger gone at the sudden flight.

That was awesome.

As they continued through the door that opened like the last one, Jaune paled as they were in a room full of platforms-each having Deku Flowers on them but the drop… He couldn’t even see the bottom.

“Uh don’t focus on the bottom,” Tatl said seeing him being nervous. “Just keep a clear head and focus on the platforms.”

‘_ I should’ve stayed home. _’ Jaune thought a bit resigned as he walked to the Deku Flower.

If he knew running away to try and enter Beacon Academy would lead to this, he would’ve found another way, or just avoid the woods entirely.

There were a few close calls with nearly missing the ledges but eventually Jaune made his way to the end in time to see a tree that looked eerily like how he did at this moment.

“Okay this is a little strange,” Tatl mused flying closer to the ‘tree’. “Don’t you think it’s a bit creepy in how you look like this tree?”

Jaune gave a nod of agreement.

“The face looks dark and gloomy, like it would start crying any second now, how sad.” Tatl said the words affecting Jaune a bit.

That was when Jaune noticed some weird seeds near it and picked them up, something that Tatl noticed.

“Ooh those are Deku Nuts.” She said with Jaune quirking a leafy brow in confusion. “They’re quite useful because they emit a flash of light when thrown to stun enemies.”

Now Jaune blinked and placed them in his hoodie pocket.

It was better to have something to defend himself with until he finds out what happened to Crocea Mors and modified Flash Bangs were a pretty good defense to have for now.

As they walked, the path kept getting a bit darker the only source of light Jaune had was Tatl before they were on a weird dirt path that kept twisting to the walls along with him hearing water ahead.

“It’s definitely a lot easier to go through here than the other room isn’t it?” Tatl spoke up, a bit tired of the silence and was willing to carry the whole conversation. “... I really do mean what I said about being sorry back there, Skull Kid isn’t usually like that.”

Okay now Jaune was interested in this as he looked at Tatl to continue.

“I mean, I know he just set a very bad impression, but he never did anything like what he did to you before,” Tatl said a worried tone in her voice. “He usually just pranked people and only stole food, at least until he found that mask.”

The conversation would’ve continued if they didn’t enter a new room that looked like an archaeological ruin where they saw a water wheel while a stone door closed behind them much to Jaunes surprise.

“We’re in the Clock Tower,” Tatl said in relief showing she knew exactly where they were at. “Come on we can enter the town through here.”

Jaune took the moment while walking to look at all of the gears that had some rust on them still work in perfect order, walking up the winding staircase after Tatl.

He’s never seen anything like this place and to think it was all inside of a mountain-that’s where he assumed he was considering the giant hole he fell through.

‘_ No one will ever believe me about this. _’ Jaune didn’t seem to mind that as he continued to walk.

Seeing a large wooden door, Jaune ran to open it only for a voice that wasn’t Tatl’s to speak up. “You’ve met with a terrible fate haven’t you?”

Both Jaune and Tatl turned, startled by the sudden voice considering neither of them heard any footsteps or tell-tale signs of someone following them, to see an adult standing a few feet away, near the spiral staircase, with red hair and long pointed ears, wearing an elegant purple tunic with an oversized backpack over his shoulders, a lot of masks all around them.

With how big the bag was, Jaune wasn’t sure how the man wasn’t crushed by it-heck how did he even make it here considering the hell he went through in the last room.

Tatl once she regained her wits quickly hid behind Jaune, shivering in fear.

That was enough for Jaune to give the man a suspicious look.

“I own the Happy Mask Shop, I travel far and wide in search of masks,” The man explained with a friendly smile. “During my travels, a very important mask was stolen from me by an imp in the woods.”

Now Jaune relaxed a bit while understanding Tatl’s fears. This man was a victim just like him and Tatl was worried he would recognize her.

“So here I am at a loss… And now I found you,” The man said studying Jaune curiously with an appraising look. “Now don’t think me rude but I’ve been following you.”

‘_ Yeah because that’s not creepy at all. _’ Jaune couldn’t help but think.

The man’s next words however caught his attention.

“For I know a way to return you to your former self,” The Man cupped his chin with a smile seeing as how he had Jaune’s complete and total attention. “If you can get back the precious item that was stolen from you, I will return you to normal.”

Jaune gave an enthusiastic nod showing he understood that.

“In exchange all I ask is that you get back that precious mask that the imp stole from me.” The man continued with Jaune giving another nod as it seemed fair. “Quite the simple task right? Why to someone like you, it should be no means a difficult task… Except.”

Now Jaune was worried about the ‘catch’ of this deal.

“The one thing is I’m a very busy fellow and I must leave this place in three days.” The man said with Jaune understanding that part.

He had to get to Vale in five days to even try to get registered for Beacon so he knew he had to hurry.

“I would be extremely grateful if you could bring it back to me before my time here is up.” The man was back to cupping his chin. “But yes… You’ll be fine, I can see that you are young and have tremendous courage due to how you chased that imp here, I’m certain you’ll find it in no time.”

“T i.” Jaune tried to say ‘Got it’ along with giving a nod showing he would do his best turning to exit the Clock Tower, being blinded momentarily by sunlight.

** _~Dawn of the First Day~_ **

** _-72 Hours Remain-_ **

Jaune blinked as they were now in the middle of a large town-in the middle of a plaza more likely with a lot of carpenters working.

Where were they-?

“He gives me the creeps!” Tatl said snapping Jaune out of his thoughts. “That Masked Salesmen was the… Sorry just thinking out loud. But three days? Even if we don’t sleep that still leaves us with 72 hours to do this. Talk about demanding.”

Jaune just shrugged while Tatl sighed.

“Well come on, we’re going to see the Great Fairy, if anyone can help us out she will. She watches over everything.” Tatl explained to the temporary Deku. “Just between you and me Skull Kid is no match for her.”

Jaune tilted his head a bit as he was still having trouble processing what happened.

Fairy’s, going through a mountain to end up in a town he’s never even heard of? Being changed into a plant.

This was just weird.

“Go to the Shrine near the North Gate, you’ll find the Great Fairy there.” Tatl gave Jaune directions, but was willing to help him learn his way around Clock Town if he needed it.

So he walked around the town, his head just turning as he saw how small he was to other humans-or were they human? They had the long ears just like that Masked Salesman?

Were they some type of Faunus?

Putting that to the back of his mind, Jaune continued to walk-taking note of an owl statue that was nearby.

Eventually they came across a grassy plain in the North part of this town where Jaune saw a bunch of children playing, a single man in armor holding a spear guarding the way out of town and a cave at the end of the place.

‘_ Weird? _’ Jaune thought before noticing that despite the sun being out there was a huge shadow so he looked up only to let out a girly scream in his Deku Form causing for Tatl to jump.

Following his gaze, Tatl saw a huge moon-like object high in the sky that appeared larger than this Clock Town in size and the scary part was that it had a freaking face with a large mouth that was gritting its teeth as if in pain and huge foreboding eyes.

“Okay that wasn’t there yesterday” Tatl said concern in her tone. “Come on, we should see the Great Fairy now.”

Jaune gave a nod of agreement wondering what was going on because last he checked the moon didn’t have a face… Plus it was shattered so this really concerned him.

With that said Tatl flew at high speeds right towards the cave opening with Jaune in hot pursuit, stumbling as he did so.

Upon entering the cave, Tatl gave a short scream surprising Jaune as he saw at the end of the cave was a pond but there were quite a few small fairies. “T-The Great Fairy!”

These Fairies were bigger than Tatl and golden along with flying around frantically within the mountain.

Approaching them, Jaune stepped in the water, feeling refreshed as he did, so when the Fairies circled around him.

“Young one, please hear my plea,” Jaune heard a voice in his head making him stiffen in slight fear. “I have been broken and shattered to pieces by the masked Skull Kid. Please find the one Stray Fairy lost in town and bring her to this Fairy Fountain.”

“S-Skull Kid did this?” Tatl asked in disbelief as she heard the voice too. “B-But how?! He never had this sort of power before.”

Jaune gave a low gulp.

This was extremely bad.

* * *

Two hours passed of running around Clock Town and they found nothing.

Tatl was the translator speaking with the locals while Jaune kept his eyes open for any Stray Fairy and despite their best efforts they came out empty-handed.

“Aw man just where is that Stray Fairy?” Tatl muttered being very frantic. “To think that Skull Kid is strong enough to shatter the Great Fairy, it’s unthinkable.”

Jaune nodded, a bit annoyed as Tatl kept repeating that under her breath but he didn’t try to say anything due to how she was in shock and even if he did try he would just confuse her.

“You have any ideas Deku Boy?” Tatl asked Jaune frowning at the nickname wanting to scream his name was Jaune but he just shrugged.

Hey Tatl was the native here and he was the tourist how was he supposed to know?

“Wow you’re really useless.” Tatl muttered tactlessly.

That did it.

“T p!” Jaune screamed at Tatl to shut up and began to let out a string of curses that couldn’t be understood.

Tatl just shook a bit as if she was rolling her eyes. “Then again it’s not your fault.” She muttered floating off.

Jaune just glared before he turned and walked off in the opposite direction.

Forget her, he’ll find Skull Kid on his own.

Tatl turned and saw him stomping off and went to call out before scoffing. “Whatever he’s slowing me down.” She muttered flying off to find Tael.

It wasn’t her fault that this Deku Boy was useless.

But as she continued to fly she thought about how despite what she did to him he did help her get out of there and turned back to where Jaune walked off towards some concern coursing through her.

* * *

‘_ Stupid, little. _’ Jaune seethed as he stomped through the town.

He was just fine until Tatl and her brother startled him, if they didn’t do that he would be in Vale by now instead of stuck as this… What did she call it? A Deku?

Jaune took a deep breath to try and calm himself down, wincing as he was now able to think clearly.

Okay, it might’ve been stupid to walk off when he didn’t know this area or even how to communicate, but he just couldn’t stand being around Tatl any longer.

‘_ Who needs her? _’ Jaune thought shaking his head and found that in his anger he stomped into a small lake-like area or rather a moat with a single house nearby and a fairy floating above the water-.

Jaune stopped and stared.

It was the Stray Fairy.

Giving a smile, Jaune went to run at the Fairy only to stop as he saw how deep the water was.

Normally that wouldn’t bother Jaune but for some reason he was feeling fear in looking at the water.

It wasn’t his fear though.

… Can this form swim?

Deciding to test it out, Jaune went to step in the water only to give a cry when he was launched a foot in the air and bounced in place five times before his feet broke through the surface.

Luckily his hands managed to grab the side of the moat and pulled himself to land with difficulty as his legs froze up in the water.

Okay so this form can’t swim… But it can skip across the water?

Despite not being sure how that worked, Jaune took a deep breath and gave a running start, skipping across the water as he grabbed the Stray Fairy who squeaked.

But then the Stray Fairy noticed how gently Jaune held her while hopping across the water and realized that this could be the chance she was waiting for.

“Please find a way to return me to Great Fairy Mountain in North Clock Town.” The Stray Fairy pleaded right as Jaune made it to the other side of the moat feeling some pride.

Jaune gave a nod and turned to leave, the Stray Fairy taking refuge inside of his hood.

Exiting the area and seeing it was called the Laundry Pool for some odd reason, Jaune began to head into the direction he knew the Great Fairy Fountain was before he heard barking.

Jaune barely had time to react when a dog tackled him and pinned him to the ground.

Throwing up his arms in defense, Jaune gave a cry when the dog bit into his arms hearing a crack and reminding him that this form was made out of wood-... Wood!

That’s how the water thing worked, wood floated for a bit but eventually sinks-oh crap he’s made of wood and at the mercy of a dog.

“Get off of him!” Tatl came out of nowhere and tackled the dog, making it yelp. “Get out of here, shoo!”

She blew a raspberry at the dog as it whined and ran off.

“Damn furball.” Tatl muttered before turning to Jaune. “You alright Deku Boy?”

Jaune blinked in surprise, holding his now injured and cracked arm, standing up. “U me ck?” He asked trying to say ‘You came back?’.

Tatl coughed in embarrassment, giving a guess at what he was trying to say. “Well I made a deal remember? We’re partners throughout this until we find Skull Kid,” She said looking away. “And I don’t plan on leaving a partner behind.”

Jaune smiled before the Stray Fairy poked out of his hood. “Aw that’s sweet.”

Tatl gave a start. “Wait you found the Stray Fairy?!” She asked in surprise with Jaune giving a proud nod as she laughed to get rid of her shock. “Wow you are just full of surprises Deku Boy.”

Jaune figured that was as close to a compliment as he would get from the Fairy before they made their way to the Fountain together.

* * *

Upon entering the small pool of water in the Fountain, Jaune gave a start as not only did his arm get healed, but the Stray Fairy shot out and joined with the others, creating a blinding flash of light before a single figure floated there with a laugh.

At that point Jaune had to stop himself from staring.

It was a beautiful woman with orange hair, amethyst eyes and fair skin the only thing covering her along with her… Assets, however were vines and he quickly averted his eyes.

You don’t live with seven sisters and not learn to be polite in the company of a woman and he was pretty sure the confident pick up lines his Dad taught him wouldn’t work here.

This lady was waaaaaay out of his league.

The Great Fairy smiled as she leaned forward looking a little amused as if she could tell what was going through Jaune’s head at this moment. “Tatl and you one of altered shape, thank you for returning my broken and shattered body to normal. I am the Great Fairy of Magic.”

“-ol.” Jaune said in awe.

The Great Fairy gave a chuckle. “Thank you for the compliment,” She said understanding him. “And if you want to talk, try from your throat instead of how you spoke as a human.”

Jaune blinked and thought about it before he tried.

“-ke dis?”

It wasn’t perfect but it was coherent.

“Yes you need to practice however.” The Great Fairy said before Tatl made herself known.

“As much as I would love for Deku Boy to learn how to talk so we can communicate, we need your help,” Tatl said trying to make up for lost time. “We’re trying to find the Skull Kid.”

“Ah yes, I thought Skull Kid was helping me when he struck.” The Great Fairy remarked, a tinge of annoyance in her tone at the memory. “As a result I grew careless and he took advantage of that to shatter me.”

With a sigh, the Great Fairy turned as if she was sitting in a chair, her arms crossed across her chest.

“I do not know where he is at this moment,” Just like that both Tatl and Jaune grew a little depressed. “But as thanks for returning me to normal, allow me to grant you Magic Power as a sign of gratitude.”

Jaune barely had time to comprehend those words as energy flowed through him and he was lifted from the ground for a few seconds.

“Magic Power?” Jaune said actually talking and was proud of himself for that.

“I cannot take away your cursed form, but I can give you a better fighting chance.” The Great Fairy elaborated to him.

“But it doesn’t do us any good if we don’t know where Skull Kid is.” Tatl sighed, not being ungrateful but was even more worried for her brother.

“Better den nofink.” Jaune tried to say and sighed.

He definitely needed more practice.

“Yeah, you’re right.” Tatl said with a nod before laughing. “It’s great to actually understand you Deku Boy.”

Jaune smiled before the Great Fairy gave another laugh. “If I may, I think I might have a solution,” She said gaining their attention. “There’s a man who lives in the observatory on the outskirts of town who may know the Skull Kid’s whereabouts but be careful for you must never underestimate that child’s powers, kind young one.”

“Noted.” Jaune said thinking back to what Skull Kid has shown to be capable of.

“If you ever return to your former shape, come see me,” The Great Fairy told him. “I shall give you more help.”

With another laugh the Great Fairy disappeared into the pond.

“Alright Deku Boy let’s get going.” Tatl went to fly off, but Jaune spoke.

“Jaune.” He was happy to finally say his name.

“Huh?” Tatl looked at him.

“My name.” Jaune spoke slowly to pronounce it correctly. “Jaune Arc, short, sweet, rolls off the tongue-ladies love it.”

… Okay maybe he should’ve left that last part out as Tatl just gave him a look.

“Do they?” She asked in amusement.

“Uh well my Mom always said-... Nevermind.” Jaune muttered in embarrassment.

“Alright Jaune,” Tatl said shaking her head, trying not to laugh. “Come on we have an Observatory to get to.”

* * *

“What do you mean you won’t let us out?!” Tatl was in the Guard’s face as the man kept Jaune from leaving. “We need to head to the Observatory!”

“I cannot allow for a child to exit the town without a weapon or an adult,” The Guard said not even bothered by the screaming fairy. “It’s been way too dangerous out there lately.”

“I’m Seventeen!” Jaune commented trying to show he wasn’t a child but the guard snorted.

“I know the age of a Deku Scrub child, you’re no older than nine,” The Guard said surprising Jaune as he didn’t realize how old this form was. “Now go and play with the other kids.”

“Damn it the Great Fairy sent us to head to the Observatory!” Tatl said not budging.

“Yes and I’m a magical Goron.” The Guard said without missing a beat, his voice full of sarcasm.

‘_ What was a Goron? _’ Jaune couldn’t help but think before deciding it didn’t matter.

“Tatl.” Jaune said making the Fairy grumble.

“The nerve of that man, oh he’s so important… Not!” Tatl muttered as they walked away.

“Is there anyway out of town?” Jaune asked curiously with Tatl shaking her head.

“No there are only four gates and each of them has a guard that will undoubtedly stop us for the same reason.” Tatl said with a sigh. “So we’re out of luck right now.”

“We’ll find a way, we got da Great Fairy back to normal and made it dis far,” Jaune said looking at the Clock Tower that you can apparently see from anywhere in town and saw the time. “It’s only three in da afternoon right now.”

“Yeah, you know you’re really getting the hang of speaking now that you know how to.” Tatl commented.

“Quick learner, although my throat kind of hurts right now.” Jaune rubbed it before stopping as his nose-er snout-whatever the hole is-began to itch.

“Well maybe we should get something to eat while we plan what to do-,” Tatl was cut off right as Jaune let out a loud sneeze and a huge snot bubble shot from his snout flying through the air and hitting the wall. “Okay what the hell?!”

Tatl gave Jaune an incredulous look as he looked exhausted by that for some reason.

“Okay I might not be the experts on Deku Scrubs but that is not normal,” Tatl said trying to figure out what that was. “And why are you exhausted all of a sudden-.”

Then it clicked.

“You’re Magic makes a snot bubble?” Tatl asked in a deadpanned tone.

“Don’t ask me, I don’t know how dis works.” Jaune grumbled out sniffling.

Tatl shook her head before looking around and saw a kid trying to pop a balloon that oddly enough had Skull Kid’s face on it. “Hey think you can do it again and aim for that balloon?”

Following her line of sight, Jaune smirked. “Gladly.” He said imagining that as the real Skull Kid and focused as another snot bubble was forming becoming cross-eyed in the attempt before he fired it and amazingly enough it hit, exploding the balloon.

“Okay not so useless,” Tatl said a bit impressed. “But it’s still disgusting.”

“Hey!” Jaune jumped and turned to see the kid who was aiming at the balloon approaching him, wearing a white shirt, blue shorts and a red cap. “You’re the one who popped that balloon right?”

Jaune gave a slow nod as the kid laughed.

“Not bad for a Deku Scrub, the name’s Jim.”

“Jaune.” Jaune said with Jim smiling.

“I couldn’t help but overhear your problem with the guard.” Jim said with Tatl muttering behind Jaune.

“I bet.” She said knowing how Jim was nosy.

“Well we Bombers just so happen to have a hideout in town that leads to the Observatory, outside of town.” Jim said offhandedly, making Jaune and Tatl brighten up as that was incredibly helpful. “You need a code to get in.”

After a few seconds Jaune spoke. “So… Are you going to tell us da code?” He asked a bit hesitant as Jim gained a smirk.

“Don’t think you’ll get it that easily, you have to pass my test first.” He said taking two fingers to his mouth and whistled.

Immediately four other kids dressed the same only wearing blue came in and lined up with Jim.

“The five of us will hide in different parts of the town,” Jim explained to the now perplexed Jaune. “You have until sundown to find us and then we’ll tell you the code-oh and Deku Nuts are unfair because of how bright they are so no using them.”

They didn’t even give Jaune or Tatl the chance to decline as all five of them took off in different directions.

“... Do we seriously have to play hide and seek with them?” Tatl asked in disbelief while Jaune hung his head a bit.

“We need to get to that Observatory so we need that code.” Jaune reminded her.

“Fine but hurry we have less than three hours to find them.” Tatl said with Jaune taking off to search for the Bombers.

_**To Be Continued...**_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How’s that for an opening of a story? Yes Jaune is Link in a way in this story as he kind of fits the criteria in the RWBY show. Blonde, blue-eyed, prefers to use a sword and a shield and is also a good, under-rated strategist.
> 
> Just not a good fighter-although that has changed quite a bit for him since the beginning.
> 
> And Remnant was once Hyrule-more will be explained on that once the Termina Arc is over and Jaune goes back there but right now Jaune is still the same as he was in Canon and will slowly change into a competent fighter-you’ll see how soon.
> 
> As for him having the Ocarina of Time I figured that could be like a family heirloom-like how Crocea Mors is and Jaune is a descendant of the Link from Ocarina of Time if you look at it that way. Gorons, Deku’s, Zora’s, Kokiri’s, Gerudo’s, Anouki’s, Koroks, Sheikahs and Rito’s still exist in Remnant but they’re currently in hiding.
> 
> Also I know Twilight Princess and Wind Waker happened in separate timelines but in this story it’s the same timeline for story sake and they both happened in the adult one-which is why Jaune is in Termina because in this timeline Link never went there.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed this chapter and I will attempt to get more out to you soon.


	2. The End of the First Cycle

“Say vat you want about dos kids, dey’re good hiders.” Jaune muttered, rubbing his wooden chin in thought.

It’s been twenty minutes since they started this ridiculous game and they haven’t seen hide nor hair of the Bomber kids.

“Oh I can say a lot about them but I won’t,” Tatl muttered mutinously but she was resigned to the fact that they had to do this before glancing at the Deku Boy. “How’re you holding up?”

“I’m getting used to dis form.” Jaune answered perfectly this time. “But I can’t wait to be Human again.”

“I can understand that,” Tatl said as it has to be weird to just change species like that with no warning. “Still Jaune, you’re holding up pretty well considering.”

Jaune gave a nod agreeing with her.

Then again he got all of his panicking out when he was first turned into a scrub as well as screaming his curses at Tatl before they formed a partnership.

Just thinking about that made Jaune surprised by how at ease they were with each other after only a few hours, but he wasn’t questioning it.

“Do you really fink dat Mask Salesman can really turn me back to normal?” Jaune asked curiously, keeping his eyes peeled for the Bombers.

Tatl didn’t answer immediately as she did doubt it, but eventually gave a nod. “It’s the only chance we have unless we convince Skull Kid to do so.” She finally said earning a scoff from Jaune who didn’t believe the masked imp would do that.

While she didn’t blame Jaune for feeling how he did against Skull Kid, she still felt uneasy as she could clearly remember how he was before that mask.

Their conversation however was halted when they finally spotted one of the Bombers and Jaune took off towards him making the kid bolt in a fit of panic.

Catching him was pretty easy considering and from there it took barely an hour to find the other four-although he has to give them credit due to having to be creative with some of them-before they were back in the North part of Clock Town.

“Okay I admit it, I’m impressed,” Jim said crossing his arms. “Not bad for a scrub. If only you were human, then I could give you an original Bomber’s Notebook and make you a member.”

Jaune blinked surprised at the ‘racist’ sounding comment from this kid.

Seeing his surprise Jim quickly elaborated. “It’s nothing against Scrubs, it’s just that we let a kid join our gang once that wasn’t human and boy did we regret it,” He said a sad look on his face while the other Bombers shuddered from the memories. “But I’ll teach you the code just like I promised, so pay attention.”

With that said they all turned around to show numbers on their backs making Jaune blink.

In the order they were standing the code was 23145.

That was… An interesting way to share a numbered password.

“Just say this order of numbers and our guard will let you in.” Jim said giving a wave at Jaune before glancing up at the sky. “We should go though it’s getting late.”

As the Bombers left, Tatl sighed. “Well at least that’s done with,” She said sounding relieved. “Now we can get to the Observatory.”

A loud rumbling made Tatl pause and look at the now embarrassed Jaune who held his stomach.

“Right none of us have eaten all day and I doubt you have any rupees to buy anything.”

“Rupees?” Jaune asked curiously.

“Gems that are the currency here.”

On hearing that, Jaune recalled the green gem and pulled it out. “Like dis?”

Tatl looked surprised. “That’s a Rupee alright, but it’s only one Rupee you won’t buy anything with one Rupee.”

“So it’s da equivalent of one Lien.” Jaune muttered.

That earned a curious look from Tatl. “Lien?”

“Da currency of Remnant.” Jaune elaborated with a confused look. “You know da whole world?”

“Remn-No this is Termina.”

“... Vat?” Jaune asked slowly.

What did she mean by that?

“Later, right now we should find some more Rupees for you.” Tatl said as she felt like this could take forever. “Tomorrow we’ll head to the Observatory alright?”

“Fine by me.”

Much to Jaune’s surprise, Tatl brought him to a field of grass. “Alright destroy the grass.”

“... I repeat, vat?”

“Rupees can be found anywhere, in grass, in rocks, in some monsters it’s part of the mystical properties to them and it’s why Termina runs on them as anyone can find them,” Tatl explained to him. “No one is sure how it works but it’s been this way for centuries.”

“So I can find money by destroying grass?” Jaune asked slowly.

Seeing Tatl nod, Jaune sighed and looked towards the grass.

Well everything else has been crazy, so why not?

Still how would he cut this tall grass when he doesn’t have his sword-?

Jaune suddenly went still, his stance going slack-this somewhat concerned Tatl a bit. “Uh Jaune? You alright?”

Instead of answering, Jaune ran at the grass as if on auto-pilot and spun around, the back of his hood emitting a spike much to Tatl’s surprise slicing through the grass knocking Rupee’s out.

Well that answered what happened to his sword at least.

Stumbling a bit from the ‘spin attack’ he did, Jaune shook his head. “Whoa, nice job Jaune.” Tatl commented, watching as Jaune began to grab the Rupee’s only to hold a blue one in confusion. “Right Rupee’s also come in different colors to show variation. Green is the lowest amount meaning 1 Rupee, Blue is Five Green Rupees, follow me so far?”

Jaune gave a nod finding that interesting and knew he had to learn this so he could get by until he gets back home.

“Red equals 20 Rupees while Purple means 50,” Tatl explained seeing how Jaune was really getting into the explanation. “Finally you have the Silver Rupees that are worth 100.”

“Huh.” Jaune mused grabbing the Rupee’s they found and pretty soon had 45 Rupees, enough for a meal if what Tatl said was correct. “And they’re just lying around?”

“Like I said no one knows how that works, it’s been this way for as long as I can remember.” Tatl said with Jaune deciding to go along with it for now.

If anything this is starting to sound like Dust only it’s currency rather than special weaponry.

** _~Dawn of the Second Day~_ **

** _-48 Hours Remain-_ **

Jaune woke up feeling stiff as rain pattered on the rooftops, he took refuge inside of a vacant Deku Flower outside of the Inn before he shot himself out, stretching his small limbs.

Tatl yawned inside of his hood, not coming out due to the rain. “Morning already?” She muttered tiredly.

“Ugly vether.” Jaune answered looking at the sky, seeing some lightning flashes. “Still ve can’t afford to waste any time.”

“Right, we have one more day after today.” Tatl agreed, knowing that it would be a miracle if they accomplished their task, still they were doing good so far despite the bumps on the way. “The hideout was in East Clock Town right?”

“You know da way?” Jaune asked with Tatl giving a ringing nod.

“Just follow my directions.”

Pretty soon they were standing in front of a narrow alleyway where a kid dressed like a ‘Bomber’ was standing. “Code?” He asked in a bored tone.

Taking a deep breath, Jaune spoke slowly to avoid mispronouncing anything “23145.”

While he might be much better than the other day he was still sure he would slip up by accident.

The kid looked surprised before giving a nod and moving to the side. “Be careful in there, there have been sightings of Skulltulas recently.” 

“S-S-Skulltulas?” Tatl asked taking a nervous tone confusing Jaune. “Uh Jaune you sure this is the only way?”

“It’s da only way we know of, so we have to risk it.” Jaune answered walking down a narrow slope, entering what looked to be the Sewers only it was actually pretty clean much to his surprise. “Vat’s with you?”

“I’d just rather not be a Skulltula’s meal.” Tatl said quivering under the hood. “They aren’t anything to take lightly.”

“Is it a form of Grimm?”

“... What’s a Grimm?” That made Jaune stop in disbelief.

“You don’t know vat a Grimm is?” He asked in surprise with Tatl giving a nod, the movement felt by Jaune. “Where da heck did I end up?”

Different currency, this place was apparently called Termina by the locals and now no creatures of Grimm?

Did he end up in another world or something-? Wait no creatures of Grimm.

That actually sounds pretty nice but he was a bit unsure given how Tatl seemed to be afraid of this Skulltula.

“If it vas yesterday I would agree with you, but don’t forget I have magic now, can’t believe I just said dat, and I can use my spin attack,” Jaune said feeling confident as they continued. “I’ll protect us.”

“Somehow I’m not that reassured.” Tatl muttered but she did feel a little better.

Jaune however heard that and resisted the urge to sigh.

He’ll protect them? What was he saying?

He could barely fight as a human, how could he do so as a Deku?

Even with the magic and the spin attack, he wasn’t used to using them.

If anything he was beginning to wonder if coming through here was a bad idea, but he frowned in determination.

No. If he backed out now, if he didn’t go through here he has no right to go to Beacon Academy.

… Well technically he has no right because of the forged transcripts but that wasn’t the point.

He has to do this.

Surprisingly however the two were getting through the sewers with little to no trouble at all, being careful to avoid the water unless they had to go across and even then they only had to judge the distance due to Jaune’s skipping ability.

“Look out!” Tatl warned barely giving Jaune enough time to jump back as a large skeleton-like spider landed on the ground making him think it was a Grimm before he realized some very key differences.

No red markings and the skeleton part was pretty much an exoskeleton instead of armor.

“That’s a Skulltula, it’s exoskeleton is tough but it has a weak underbelly.” Tatl warned as it lunged at him, leaving Jaune to quickly dive out of the way, skipping across the water.

However the Skulltula shot a strand of webbing, snagging Jaune by the arm and pulled him back before he hit the wall.

Stumbling as he stood up, Jaune ducked and rolled right as the Skulltula attempted to bite his head off.

He made it to his feet and began to run with the Skulltula in hot pursuit, dodging and weaving around the webs shot at him.

He might’ve said he would protect them, but that was a big spider.

It was literally bigger than him and he had to go for it’s underbelly?

That’s suicide in this cramped space, no he needs to lead it to a more open space so he could have room to move.

Then he’ll fight if it’s still chasing him.

There was no way he was leaving it here when those Bomber Children come in-.

Bomb.

Just like that, Jaune remembered the Deku Nuts he had and a plan formed in his mind before he found himself in a very open space with a large balloon floating above a ladder.

Coming to a stop, Jaune spun to give the lunging Skulltula a reason to back up as the spike barely missed it.

Even while feeling a bit dizzy, Jaune quickly put the space between them.

‘ _ Alright focus even if it’s an animal it must have a pattern it follows. _ ’ Jaune reminded himself despite his heart pounding against his wooden chest.

If he was still human he might’ve just ran at it with his sword, but no he had to be smart here.

One wrong move and it would be all over.

Reaching into his pocket, Jaune felt his small hand clasp around the Deku Nut and his round mouth quirked a bit to show a smirk.

Tired of waiting the Skulltula lunged and that was when Jaune reacted throwing the Deku Nut to the ground, emitting a loud noise along with a flash, the Skulltula crying in agony while Jaune had some spots in his eyes, but he could see it was stumbling.

So he quickly used his magic to hit it with a snot bubble, aiming for its leg, making it slip up to land on its face, revealing it’s underbelly.

Knowing he had one shot, Jaune ran forward and lunged, spinning as he did so his head spike piercing through its underbelly, killing it as the spider erupted in flames, disappearing, leaving a blue Rupee.

“Whoa.” Tatl flew out of Jaune’s hood looking a bit awed. “Man I thought we were in big trouble but you took it down no problem, nice job Deku-.”

She turned to speak to Jaune only to notice how he was shaking badly.

“H-Hey Jaune, what’s wrong?” Tatl asked, concern showing in her tone.

Jaune however didn’t hear her as he was almost hyperventilating before he began to take deep breaths, trying desperately to calm himself down.

“Jaune was that your first kill?” Tatl asked softly guessing the answer.

Slowly Jaune gave a nod.

But he was confused.

Yes that was his first kill, but he’s seen the Creatures of Grimm before as his Sisters had killed them, so why was he so scared of this? He shouldn’t be this scared. Was it because he was trapped as a nine year old Deku?

He wanted to cry, but he refused to, because he wasn’t a baby.

Tatl flew down to his chest and floated there. “Jaune, it was a do or die situation,” She said softly, seeing the transformed Deku Boy like this-shaking and quivering-reminded her of when she and Tael met Skull Kid. “It was either that thing or us.”

“I-I know.” Jaune said his voice uneven.

“If you want, we can take a break here.” Tatl offered as there wasn’t any more trouble.

Even if they needed to hurry, she knew that Jaune needed time to process this and was grateful that there weren’t any more Skulltula nearby because no doubt they would take advantage of his shocked state.

“I-... I.” Jaune’s shoulders shook before he felt Tatl against his chest.

That alone was enough to break him from his fear as he couldn’t believe Tatl was doing that as she didn’t seem to be the type to do so, but he didn’t care.

“Fank you.” Jaune whispered his small arms embracing the little fairy lightly to avoid hurting her.

It took a bit for him to calm down before he let go looking a little embarrassed.

“Sorry for breaking down like dat.” Jaune muttered knowing they lost precious time. “Come on.”

“You sure?” Tatl asked with Jaune using his Bubble magic to destroy the balloon above the ladder to show the doorway.

“Yeah, I am.” Jaune said climbing the ladder.

As they entered the dark hall, the two began to hear light music and eventually found themselves in a brightly colored room that made Jaune hiss in pain as it was a sudden change from the dark sewer, so it took a moment for his eyes to adjust.

“Is dis vat it feels like to be high?” Jaune asked as the walls changed from stone walls to having swirling neon colors with various papers scattered all across the floor before he saw a set of stairs.

This was all in a sewer?

“Come on,” Tatl said flying up the stairs, Jaune having to follow her, his stubby legs making it so that he literally had to climb and pull himself up the stairs. “I wonder how this Astronomer knows Skull Kid?”

“I vonder if it vould kill him to install an elevator.” Jaune muttered in annoyance as he kept climbing up.

Eventually he made it to the top to see an elderly man with gray hair reaching his shoulders wearing a blue robe and hat making him look like a scholar, using a giant telescope.

Hearing them, he turned and looked pleasantly surprised. “Visitors? If I knew you were coming I would’ve had some tea prepared.” He said not minding that they are technically trespassing. “I take it you’re a friend of the Bombers?”

“Something like that,” Tatl said speaking for Jaune. “We came here to speak with you sir.”

“Hm, you are much more polite than those of your mischievous friend the other day.” The man said thinking back to his last visitor before letting out a humorless laugh. “That ill-mannered trouble maker said that he’d break my precious instruments. He said he’d steal my Moon’s Tear, there was no stopping him.”

Despite preparing to ask if this ‘visitor’ was Skull Kid, Jaune paused. “Moon’s Tear?” He asked his voice making the man smiled, nodding his head to a nearby display case where the Deku saw a large blue crystal in the shape of a tear.

“It’s a lunar rock that occasionally falls from the eyes of the moon.” The man explained with Jaune showing interest, thinking that was pretty cool to hear. “Still that troublemaker, I was just watching him, he’s at the Clock Tower.”

That caught Jaune’s attention. “He is?!”

“Oh do you want to see?” The man asked taking a step back, but placing a stool there so Jaune could climb up to look and it was indeed Skull Kid standing on the top of the Clock Tower looking right at him.

Jaune tensed at that as Skull Kid tilted his head as if he knew exactly who was watching him before looking up at the moon.

Feeling curious, Jaune followed his gaze only to realize something alarming.

The moon was closer than it was the other day.

‘ _ Is that normal for this world? _ ’ Jaune thought in a panic, unsure if it was normal or not.

Switching back to Skull Kid, Jaune was not amused when he saw the kid shaking his butt at the telescope in a mocking manner before disappearing by jumping down showing he was hiding out inside of the Clock Tower.

‘ _ I know where you are now. _ ’ Jaune thought determination on his face as he took a step back.

Seeing that, Tatl hovered near him. “I take it you found him?”

“Da top of Clock Tower.” Jaune said looking at her.

Just like Tatl’s wings drooped. “Oh, that might be a problem, it’s too tall for you to be able to get in, I mean I can fly up there easily but I can’t carry you up there,” She said with Jaune seeing what she meant. “And I can’t exactly get your Ocarina back.”

“And even if she was able to get you up there, you wouldn’t be able to get in,” The man said making Jaune jump as in the excitement of finally finding Skull Kid he forgot he was there. “The doors of the Tower are sealed shut to keep people from messing with it, however it opens once every year during the Carnival of Time which is actually tomorrow.”

Jaune blinked before realizing he had one day to figure out how to get up there in his current form. One day to make a plan.

If he didn’t, there's no telling what would happen.

** _-BOOM-_ **

A loud noise outside made Jaune and Tatl jump while the man hummed in thought.

“Sounds like another Moon’s Tear fell right outside of the Observatory,” The man said looking at Jaune. “Do you want it? I already have one after all.”

Despite looking surprised, Jaune gave a nod.

He still has a day, plus if he gets his Ocarina back-no… When he gets it back, he wants a bit of a souvenir.

So he walked towards the door that the man pointed to and walked out to see a smoking crater and Jaune took a moment to appreciate the nature around them as there was a large fence-most likely to keep wildlife out as he saw a snowy mountain nearby making him blink.

It was warm, so why was a snowy mountain in sight?

Shaking his head, Jaune walked towards the crater where the smoke was beginning to disappear to see the Moon’s Tear as he slowly reached for it. Surprisingly it felt cool to the touch instead of heated but that could be because of how his body worked right now given he wasn’t flesh and bone at the moment.

“Wow it’s pretty looking.” Tatl said flying around it while Jaune gave a nod. “What are you going to do with it?”

“I’ll cross dat bridge vhen I come to it,” Jaune answered walking back in where he saw the man waiting with a small pouch that he gave the Deku. “Uh fanks?”

“I noticed you were missing a gear bag,” The man said making Jaune blink. “It’s a common necessity in Termina that allows for people to hold many items they find useful, I think you’d rather have that instead of carrying that around which is just asking to be robbed.”

Jaune gave a nod accepting the bag gratefully, opening it up to see that there was literally no bottom.

‘ _ What is this? Hammerspace? _ ’ Jaune asked in complete confusion wondering how it worked as it felt like something out of a cartoon or a videogame.

… Oh right Magic existed in this world.

So he placed the Moon’s Tear inside and despite how it was bigger than the bag it went in easily.

This was amazing.

“Thank you sir, this is really helpful.” Tatl said a bit amused at how easily Jaune was impressed by this common item.

She didn’t think about the fact that he didn’t have one though.

“It’s no trouble at all, you two were an amusing distraction from my day-to-day activities,” The man said a kind smile on his face. “A welcomed one.”

“Fank you uh-.” Jaune not looked sheepish as he realized he didn’t know the man’s name.

Seeing the problem, the man laughed. “You can call me Shikashi.”

“Alright, I’m Jaune.” Jaune said shaking hands with the man before they left the Observatory.

** _~Night of the Second Day~_ **

** _-36 Hours Remain-_ **

“So da moon being closer isn’t normal?” Jaune asked a bit fearfully with Tatl giving a nod, the two of them taking cover underneath the porch roof of the Inn as the rain picked up.

“No it isn’t, this is really worrying.” Tatl said concern in her tone for what was happening. “I mean the moon having a face is normal but seeing it during the day and seeing it this close? That isn’t.”

After a second she looked at Jaune.

“What was it like in Remnant?”

“Didn’t you see it vhile you vere dere?” Jaune asked in surprise.

Tatl shook her head. “No we were never there, I think you somehow crossed over into our world rather than us going into yours, that forest is a part of Termina.”

Jaune blinked a bit surprised by that.

If that was true then why did he find it?

Shaking his head, Jaune looked up. “Da Moon back home is shattered, it’s still dere but not fully.” He answered with Tatl tilting herself as if in thought.

“So it’s like how the Great Fairy was the other day?” Tatl asked with Jaune giving a nod. “Wow, that’s a scary thought.”

Jaune agreed with her.

Silence descended upon the two before Tatl broke it again. “Hey do you mind if I ask you a question?”

“Sure.” Jaune looked happy to have the conversation going.

“What exactly were you doing out in the forest?” Tatl looked at the Deku. “I mean it was the middle of the night after all, I was surprised that anyone was out there.”

“I vas on my vay to Vale,” Jaune answered with Tatl feeling confused. “It’s a Kingdom on Remnant and from dere I vas going to enter Beacon Academy, I need to be dere in three days now.”

“So you were heading for a school?” Tatl looked surprised while Jaune gave a nod.

“A school for Huntsmen and Huntresses,” Jaune said some excitement in his tone. “Protectors of Humanity from da Creatures of Grimm.”

“Huh you just keep surprising me Deku Boy.” Tatl said not expecting that, guessing these ‘Grimm’ were like the monsters that plague Termina. “So you’re a warrior?”

On hearing that, the excitement in Jaune deflated. “Not really, I vas heading dere to learn more about it,” He confessed leaving out the forged transcripts part. “I come from a family of Heroes and vell I have a lot on my shoulders.”

Mostly because he wanted to prove he could be as good of a Huntsmen as his parents and Sisters, but being the youngest made everyone very overprotective which was why he hasn’t received much training.

Tatl went quiet before she spoke. “Do you have any siblings?” She asked curiously.

“Seven sisters.”

That made Tatl give a start at him. “S-Seven?!” She nearly shouted while Jaune gave a shrug.

“I’m da youngest.”

“Geez I can barely deal with one sibling,” Tatl said shaking a bit before she continued. “Well I’m the oldest sibling with Tael, the two of us were inseparable growing up.”

As she said that, Tatl looked down with Jaune giving a sympathetic look.

“Hey ve’ll find him, he’s with Skull Kid right?” Jaune asked but that just made Tatl feel worse.

“That’s exactly what I’m worried about.” Tatl then shook her head. “That’s enough talk, we should get some rest.”

** _~Dawn of the Third Day~_ **

** _-24 Hours Remain-_ **

Jaune sighed looking up at the Clock Tower from the ground, Tatl behind him. “Dere has to be a way up dere.” He said nothing but determination on his face.

He had one chance, he can’t screw this up.

“I’m certain there is, but have you noticed something odd?” Tatl was looking around her question made Jaune frown as he knew what she was talking about.

Clock Town was practically a Ghost Town right now with only a few people out and about, there was a pretty big evacuation as the moon was even closer, almost breaking orbit at this point so everyone was scared it would fall while the people who stayed didn’t believe that nonsense.

Truth be told, Jaune was scared completely out of his mind because Tatl told him if by any chance this moon did fall, the impact would be enough to destroy everything for miles. There wasn’t a safe distance from this and the people who evacuated wouldn’t make it.

This was basically an apocalyptic-end of the world scenario and he was rightfully scared out of his mind.

Tearing his eyes from the empty town, Jaune paused at seeing a golden Deku Flower and his eyes lit up looking from it to the Clock Tower, his actions bringing it to Tatl’s attention.

“Jaune you’re a genius.” Tatl said seeing that he figured out how to get up there.

Still he needed to practice so he ran towards it only for a voice to cry out. “Wait! Wait! Hang on!” Nearly jumping, Jaune saw an older Deku flying by his own power, carrying bags before landing on the flower, depositing the bags inside of it, giving Jaune a stern glare. “This is my private property, don’t try using it when I’m not around.”

“Are you kidding me?!” Tatl got in his face. “It’s an emergency.”

“Don’t care.” The Deku said not intimidated while Jaune quickly broke in while Tatl flew to the side, letting out a string of curses that would make a seasoned Huntsmen blush.

“Is dere anyvay ve can make a compromise?” He asked pleadingly.

“Screw compromise! I say we get the Great Fairy to help us kick this Deku where the sun doesn’t shine.” Tatl said venomously.

Giving a glare at Tatl, the older Deku frowned as he saw a pleading face on Jaune which was the equivalent of the puppy dog eyes to Deku’s and the tone of desperation he was using.

Just what did he need this flower for?

Still he asked for a compromise.

“I’m looking to give something to my wife,” The Deku said slowly, his words making Tatl pause in her rant. “I heard tales of a Moon’s Tear that shines brighter than any lands, tell you what kid you get me one and I’ll give you the deed to this place.”

Truth be told he felt he was asking too much of the kid with how his shoulders sagged, but the Deku was surprised when Jaune opened his bag and pulled a Moon’s Tear out.

‘ _ There goes my souvenir. _ ’ Jaune thought, but decided it didn’t matter.

What did matter was getting to Skull Kid.

Getting over his shock, the Deku pulled out a paper showing the deed and handed it over. “A deal is a deal, this spot is now yours,” He said taking the Moon’s Tear. “Thanks kid you just helped me get my wife the greatest gift anyone can give her.”

With that said he dove into the Flower before shooting out to fly off, his bags in his hands.

“At least that’s out of the way.” Tatl said relief in her tone.

The ground began to shake with Jaune stumbling, trying to catch his footing while Tatl trembled in fear and looked up.

“It’s the moon, it’s too close and causing the land to act like this.” Tatl said as the earthquakes were only beginning.

“You really fink it’ll open?” Jaune asked pointing towards the doors on the upper part of the tower. “Vith da town almost abandoned, I vouldn’t be surprised if it stayed closed.”

“Don’t say that,” Tatl got in his face before saying in a small voice. “Please don’t, it has to work.”

With everything going on, she just wants to find her brother.

Jaune gave a nod and they waited, sitting on a bench near the flower knowing that there was nothing more they can do until it was midnight.

As they waited, Jaune thought back to his family.

How were they doing? Were they worried about him?

… Would he ever see them again?

Jaune couldn’t help those thoughts because with each passing second he would look up at the moon and be reminded at how small he truly was while the hours passed by.

Eventually it was time, but it was the longest wait of Jaune’s life as he was plagued with so many what-if’s and fears before the Clock Tower began to chime and he could see the door opening.

“Come on.” Tatl said flying up there, Jaune right behind her as he used the Deku Flower to fly higher than ever and barely made it when the flowers gave out.

Landing on his feet, Jaune began to run up the stairs and eventually made it to the top where Skull Kid himself floated in clear view, tossing the Ocarina in the air and catching, his mask giving him more of an ominous look.

“Skull Kid!” Jaune shouted making the guy look at him.

“You again? I have to say your persistence is getting on my nerves.” Skull Kid drawled out, his mannerisms a lot different than they were three days ago. “I’m actually impressed you survived for so long to get up here.”

“Skull Kid you’re going too far.” Tatl said looking at him, praying he would listen. “Come on we can talk about this.”

“Talk? What is there to talk about?” Skull Kid asked and Jaune could just hear the smirk in his tone. “Especially after my handywork.”

As he said that, Skull Kid looked up at the moon and just like that it clicked what he meant.

“Y-You did this?” Tatl asked in pure shock.

“Sis!” Tael flew out from behind Skull Kid with Tatl immediately paying more attention to him.

“Tael get away from him!”

Tael didn’t listen, instead he spoke in a hurry. “Swamp. Mountain. Ocean. Canyon.” He began confusing everyone except for Skull Kid who was slowly turning towards him. “Hurry, the four who are there, bring them here-.”

He was cut off when Skull Kid backhanded him, sending him flying a bit away. “Shut up you stupid fairy, don’t speak out of line.”

“Tael!” Tatl looked very concerned before glaring at Skull Kid. “Do you think you’re still our friend after that?!”

Skull Kid looked like he could care less. “As if that matters when this falls.”

“Are you insane?!” Jaune shouted looking at him incredulously. “Vhen dat hits da ground everyone vill die, dat includes you too!”

“So what?”

The cold, callous way he said that took Jaune by surprise. “V-Vat?”

“I said, so what?” Skull Kid repeated in a sinister tone, the words shocking Tatl who has never heard him like this before. “Life is fleeting, fragile, it doesn’t really matter, in fact I’m doing everyone a favor by snuffing out their existence.”

Jaune took a step back at hearing that.

That was… There was no reason for this madness, this evil act that Skull Kid was doing, he wasn’t doing this for revenge or a simple motive.

He was doing this simply because he could.

His knees were shaking as the gravity of the situation began to sink in.

He was witnessing the beginning of genocide.

‘ _ Where are the Huntsmen and Huntresses when you need them? _ ’ Jaune thought praying that one would magically show up and stop Skull Kid.

That’s what heroes do right?

But they weren’t here… This wasn’t Remnant and the only one who knew what was going on was him.

‘ _ You wanted to be a Huntsmen. _ ’ Jaune reminded himself trying desperately to calm himself down. ‘ _ Even if this was far from what you have in mind and this isn’t Remnant, people will die. _ ’

He was scared, he wanted to curl up in a ball and cry.

But that wouldn’t help.

“I von’t let you!” Jaune shouted out and just like that Skull Kid just looked at him, not even throwing the Ocarina up, silence descending around them. “I’ll stop you.”

“Jaune?” Tatl looked at him as Tael managed to fly back looking injured, but staying away from Skull Kid.

“You… Won’t let me?” Skull Kid asked his shoulders shaking as snickers began to escape. “You think you can stop me?”

The snickers turned into full blown laughter at what he was hearing.

“Hahahahahahahaha, oh man you’re actually serious?” Skull Kid asked laughing even harder. “You trapped in the body of a Deku Scrub Child, you have no weapons and even if you had them you have no idea how to use them.”

As he said that, Jaune’s courage began to dwindle knowing he was right.

“What? You think you’re the hero of this story? You think that you’ll magically win and get a happy ending for these people?” Skull Kid asked in amusement, his laughter dying down. “How cute, I’ll let you in on a little secret.”

Skull Kid floated a little closer.

“They’re just stories, there are no heroes. No matter what you do you can’t save everyone,” Skull Kid then smirked under his mask and tensed. “But if you want to try.”

A second barely passed before Jaune felt pain and he was thrown across the floor, as Skull Kid launched an energy bolt faster than he can blink before Jaune was lifted into the air as Skull Kid grabbed him.

“Pathetic, I’m not even trying here.” Skull Kid mocked throwing Jaune right to the floor where he cried out in pain. “And you thought you could stop me?”

“Jaune!” Tatl flew towards him in concern as Jaune was struggling to push himself up.

His mind was fighting with his fear and what he knew was right as he looked up at Skull Kid who shook his head.

“I don’t know what’s worse, your persistence or your delusions of grandeur.” Skull Kid said with a laugh, back to throwing the Ocarina up into the air while Jaune climbed back up to his feet.

“Doesn’t matter it ends anyway if you succeed,” Jaune said aloud-mostly to try and gather his courage. “What do I have to lose?”

“I suppose you have a point,” Skull Kid mused his hand lighting up. “How about I make it quick for you since you’ve been so entertaining?”

With that he prepared an energy bolt and shot it at Jaune, aiming for where his heart would be, but something else happened.

“Skull Kid!” Tael flew in the way despite Tatl’s cries when she saw that. Her baby brother taking the hit that would’ve hit both Jaune and Tatl, skidding across the ground as his light was getting weaker.

“Tael, what were you thinking?!” Tatl flew towards him in a frenzy. “J-Just hold on, we’ll get you some help.”

No answer came as Tatl grew more worried.

“Tael, no please.” Tatl whispered nudging him as the light completely died. “No, no, no.”

“So the stupid fairy decided to end his pathetic life?” Skull Kid asked, his voice making Tatl look up.

“Skull Kid how could you?!” Tatl shouted at him. “You were our friend, we treated you like family.”

“Simple, because none of this matters.” Skull Kid taunted with Jaune looking at Tael in pure shock.

The fairy took the shot for him… Because he wasn’t strong enough Tael died.

Anger clouded Jaune’s mind as he glared at Skull Kid who looked amused again.

“You really don’t know when to quit, do you kid?” Skull Kid asked rhetorically. “I think I’ll end this.”

With that he looked up at the sky and screamed, raw power coursing off of him before stopping. At first Jaune was confused before he noticed with worry that the moon was now falling towards them.

They had five minutes before it would hit.

Seeing Skull Kid laughing himself silly, Jaune narrowed his eyes wanting to knock the smugness out of him and remembered his gift from the Great Fairy.

So with focus, he fired a snot bubble at Skull Kid covering him in it making his laughter turned to coughs of disgust while the Ocarina fell from his grip, clattering on the ground. On auto-pilot, not even thinking of what he was doing, Jaune ran and grabbed the Ocarina, a memory going through his head.

** _~Eight Years Ago~_ **

A nine year old Jaune groaned as he sat on a tree stump, while a man in his early forties chuckled, looking like Jaune with the addition of a beard, his blue eyes twinkling as he was playing a carved Ocarina.

“Am I boring you Jaune?” The man asked.

Jaune looked down guiltily at being caught. “N-No Dad, it’s just, why can’t you teach me how to use Crocea Mors?” He asked as the weapon was currently sheathed, next to his father. “I want to be a hero like you.”

On hearing that, Mr. Arc frowned and placed his homemade Ocarina down so he could kneel next to Jaune. “Son, the world isn’t all about heroes, there are other avenues you can take, the Arc family has given Remnant plenty of heroes,” He said ruffling Jaune’s hair. “Just be happy, four of your sisters aren’t warriors and they’re happy.”

“Happy? Dad, you’re a retired Huntsmen, Mom was a Huntress. The other three of my sister’s are Huntresses or in the military, why can’t I be like them?” Jaune asked looking at him.

“Like them or like me?” Mr. Arc quietly asked seeing Jaune’s lip quiver as he always told stories of his adventures as a Huntsman, clearing out Grimm and his old team, even his sisters did that with their adventures.

It was no wonder Jaune wanted to follow in their footsteps, but he and his wife couldn’t afford to let another one of their children follow in their footsteps.

Jaune was their youngest and their hearts couldn’t take the idea of him putting himself in danger like that. Instead however, Mr. Arc gained an idea. “Follow me.”

Blinking in surprise, Jaune got off the stump as his Dad led him into the house and into the attic where he pulled out a box, blowing the dust off of it.

“Here you go,” He said with a smile. “Open it.”

Now wondering what this was, Jaune opened the box to see a beautifully crafted blue Ocarina. “Huh?”

“This is an instrument called the Ocarina of Time and it’s been passed down in the family for generations, long before we were the Arcs.” Mr. Arc said showing that their family line went very deep in history. “It’s more of a family heirloom than Crocea Mors is and I want you to have it.”

“Y-You’re giving me this?” Jaune asked in awe looking up at his Dad as even if it wasn’t anything to do with being a Huntsman, he could tell this was a priceless instrument.

“I am, now come on.”

Moments later they were outside as Mr. Arc mused which songs he learned growing up to teach Jaune before snapping his fingers. “How about I teach you the Song of Time?”

“The what?” Jaune asked not expecting that.

“Like the Ocarina of Time, many songs have been passed down with it. Bolero of Fire, Minuet of Forest, Saria’s Song, but one of the most renowned one is the Song of Time,” Mr. Arc said his eyes twinkling as he raised his Ocarina. “Pay attention to my fingers and repeat after me.”

** _~Present Time~_ **

Jaune snapped out of his memory looking at his Ocarina.

Why did he remember that-?

“Hey snap out of it! We need to go.” Tatl said looking at Jaune despite knowing fully well that they wouldn’t be able to get out of this. “Someone help us! Anyone?! I’ll even take the Goddess of Time at this point.”

Time.

Goddess.

Ocarina of Time.

Those words flashed through Jaune’s mind before he tightened his grip on the Ocarina and went to raise it to his lips, only for it to shine and the Ocarina manifested itself into a pair of Deku Pipes looking like a tuba with five different horns, the act of this happening surprising Tatl.

“What are you-?” Tatl asked with Jaune beginning to play the Song of Time. “Are you seriously doing this right now?!”

As he played, power began to gather in Jaune while Skull Kid finally freed himself of the Snot Bubble and glowered. “You’ll pay for that.” He snarled flying right at Jaune when he hit the last note.

Immediately a bright light filled the area and then… Nothing.

** _To Be Continued…_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright I’ll be ending this here-I think it’s pretty obvious what happened to those who played the game but I hope you enjoyed the characterization as well as the twists and turns. Who was caught off guard when Tael died? I think that shows how dark this story will get especially because Majoras Mask is one of the darkest LOZ games out there. So expect it to get darker and you can bet that Jaune’s character will change by the time we get into the RWBY Arc. It’s already starting to change due to everything that’s going on.
> 
> Besides that I wanted to add a bit more to Majora’s Character, especially when he’s still possessing Skull Kid and show just how outmatched Jaune was in this encounter.


	3. Making a Plan

** _~Dawn of the First Day~_ **

** _-72 Hours Remain-_ **

The first thing Jaune did when he opened his eyes, was blink in astonishment.

Clock Town was no longer deserted, there were people walking around, it was day time. Nothing bad was happening.

“W-What just?” Tatl seemed to be in the same boat as Jaune in being astonished. “But we just-?”

She was at a loss for words it seems.

“Everything just… Started over?”

On hearing that Jaune ran in the middle of the town square and looked up, Tatl following close behind as they saw the Moon back in the same position it was on the first day there.

“Wha-... What are you anyways?!” Tatl finally asked not sure what was going on. “That song you played… That instrument.”

Then she froze.

“That instrument!” She repeated now looking from Jaune towards the lower part of the Clock Tower where the Mask Salesman was. “He said if you got your precious item back he can turn you back to normal.”

“Do you fink it vill vork?” Jaune asked curiously checking his bag that Shikashi gave him to see that the Ocarina was in there.

He-He time traveled. Jaune always thought that was something in movies or comics, not an actual thing. It was mind-boggling to think about it actually happening.

“What do we have to lose?” Tatl asked before quieting down. “I-If everything started over does that mean that Tael-?”

She went quiet the image of Tael dying going through her mind before Jaune reached out and gently placed his wooden hand on where her head was. “I’m certain he’s alive,” Jaune said feeling relief. “If ve started it over dat means it hasn’t happened.”

Still just how did that happen?

… Better question.

Just what type of Ocarina was this?

While he was truly curious, Jaune felt that it could be answered after he gets turned back to Human, so without another word he headed for the lower Clock Tower level with Tatl flying behind him lost in thought.

She wanted to believe that Tael was alive again, but she can’t until she sees it for herself.

* * *

“Oh back so soon?” The Masked Salesman asked curiously as Jaune entered the room.

“I got my item back, you vould not believe vat happened.” Jaune said, the fact that he could speak was not lost on the Salesman as he smiled.

“You would be surprised, my young friend, but more than that, it is wonderful news, now we can begin.”

Jaune just stared as the man walked past him towards an Organ Piano that wasn’t there before making him question just how he missed it.

“Listen closely and memorize the song I’m about to play.”

With that said, he began to slowly play the Organ, the notes giving off a foreboding yet peaceful tone as he played. Eventually Jaune pulled the Ocarina out, seeing it turn into the Deku Pipes yet again and began to play along, the baritones of the pipes adding to the foreboding tone.

As he played it however, Jaune began to sway, the Pipes disappearing yet again as he stumbled.

“Jaune?!” Tatl flew down in concern wondering what was wrong before turning to the Salesman. “You said it would work!”

“It is, just give it some time. The Song of Healing effects differ from person to person.”

Unknown to them, deep within Jaune’s subconscious, he blinked as a Human while seeing his Deku Form in front of him crying its eyes out. A bit surprised by that, Jaune looked around before kneeling in front of the Deku him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“Hey, it’s alright.” Jaune said trying to sound reassuring despite not knowing what was going on.

Deku Jaune looked at the Human Jaune with tear-soaked eyes. “I-I don’t vant to be alone again.” He whimpered tucking his legs in to hug them. “Please don’t leave.”

Needless to say that surprised Jaune before remembering how different he acted as the Deku Scrub and came to a startling realization.

The Scrub was its own personality despite himself being a big part of it.

And by doing this he was in reality throwing this part away.

“Hey you won’t be alone.” Jaune said trying to calm him down with the Deku him sniffling.

“I  ** _*Sniffle*_ ** I von’t?”

“You won’t,” Jaune said firmly to him. “If you think I’m leaving you alone there’s another thing coming.”

“B-But I thought you didn’t like me.” Deku Jaune whispered looking down. “You hated being me.”

“It was weird.” Jaune admitted with a wince before giving a genuine smile. “But it was a neat experience. That didn’t mean I didn’t like you, in fact I think you’re pretty cool.”

That made Deku Jaune look up at him with wide eyes, trying to stop the tears. “R-Really?” He asked in a hopeful tone.

Jaune smiled. “Really,” He said placing a hand on the hooded wooden head. “Just be more confident.”

Shaking a bit, Deku Jaune enveloped Human Jaune in a hug that he returned after a second. “A-Alright I trust you.” Deku Jaune whispered, glowing.

Blinking a bit as the sound of wood clattering, Jaune caught himself as he was back in the lower clock tower, as a Human again with Tatl flying around him. “Jaune are you alright?” Tatl asked in concern.

“I’m fine.” Jaune said with a smile looking at Tatl before he noticed on the floor, a mask that looked like his Deku Face.

Slowly he bent down and picked it up and he swore he heard his Deku form’s voice. “Use my power vell.”

“Uh Jaune, you might want to look at your ears.” Tatl said making Jaune look at her.

“My ears?” He asked reaching to touch them only to pause at feeling them to be pointed. “W-What?”

And they were apparently very sensitive given how he quickly let go.

Placing the mask in his bag, he moved his other hand to his remaining ear to feel the pointed tip as well, trying not to tense from the sensitivity.

Why did his ears become pointy?!

Quickly, Jaune rushed towards the nearby water and saw his reflection, his eyes widening at seeing the pointy ears for himself. Though he was just as surprised that the ears twitched in surprise.

“Hm interesting, it seems you gained the use of magic, yet you act as if your ears aren’t supposed to be like that,” The Salesman said with a smile deciding not to say anything about his suspicions. “And you now have the ability to change back and forth between being a Deku Scrub and your real body at any moment using the mask.”

“So it’s a transformation mask?” Jaune asked in awe at hearing that, his ears perking up.

“Yes, speaking of which,” The Salesman held his hand out. “I kept my end of the bargain to you so please fulfill your promise to me.”

It got quiet as Jaune and Tatl exchanged glances nervously.

They didn’t have the mask that Skull Kid was wearing.

Slowly the Salesman stopped moving, his smile becoming strained. “You did get it… Right?”

“It’s complicated.” Jaune began only for the man to go in a frenzy and grab him by the shoulders, his eyes open to show they were blood red as he began to rapidly shake Jaune back and forth.

“What have you done to me?!” The Salesman shouted in a panic. “If you leave my mask out there something terrible will happen.”

“T-Terrible?!” Jaune asked feeling extremely dizzy before the man let go with him falling on his butt.

Taking a few seconds to calm himself as he had his hands on his head, the Salesman took a breath before he began to explain. “The mask that was stolen from me… It is called Majora’s Mask,” He said looking Jaune right in the eyes. “It is an accursed item from legend that is said to have been used by an ancient tribe in their hexing rituals. It is said that an evil and wicked power is bestowed upon the one who wears the mask.”

“A… Cursed mask?” Jaune asked slowly not sure what else to expect.

“According to legend, the troubles caused by Majora’s Mask were so great… The ancient ones, fearing such catastrophe, sealed the mask in shadow forever, preventing its misuse,” The Salesman continued. “But now the tribe from the legend has vanished, so no one really knows the true nature of the mask’s power.”

‘ _ Except for us. _ ’ Jaune thought looking at Tatl who no doubt came to the same conclusion the fear of the moon falling coming to mind.

All of this from a simple mask, the source of Skull Kid’s power.

That meant they just needed to get the mask off, but Jaune had no clue how they would accomplish that.

“But I feel it, I went through great lengths to get that legendary mask. When I finally had it,” The Salesman fell to his knees looking pitiful. “And now that imp has it. I’m begging you, you must get that mask back quickly or something horrible will happen.”

“Get it back?” Jaune asked not feeling confident about his chances.

He barely survived that last run-in and while he was back to normal, he knew his chances weren’t that great. How could he beat Skull Kid if he could barely survive?

But the Salesman wouldn’t budge. “I’m begging you,” He said bowing his head. “You must do it. Please.”

Jaune looked at Tatl who shared his lack of confidence before the blonde frowned in determination.

He can’t ignore this.

Yes he was scared out of his mind but now he knew what to expect, plus if he didn’t-if no one did then this world was doomed.

It doesn’t matter if he feels confident about his chances or not, he can’t ignore this. There was too much at stake.

“Okay.” Jaune said the Salesman looking up at that.

“Jaune are you sure?” Tatl asked with the blonde nodding.

“We have an advantage.” Jaune said as they knew exactly what would happen. “If we play our cards right we can get that mask back.”

“Really, you’ll do it?” The Salesman looked overjoyed. “Thank you, I have complete confidence in your abilities in handling this mask.”

‘ _ Confidence. _ ’ Jaune thought giving a nod with a smile.

“Just believe in your strength.” The Salesman said as Jaune went to leave. “Oh one more thing.”

Turning back, he saw the Salesman holding out a notebook of some kind.

“This notebook belonged to the Bombers Gang that usually hangs around here, this one in particular belongs to the imp,” The Salesman said, Jaune’s eyes widening. “I’m certain it will be of use to you.”

“Really?” Jaune muttered opening it only to blink.

A lot of the pages were ripped out, in fact the only one that wasn’t was the Bomber’s Code along with the Moon’s Tear location and quite a few blank pages.

“Stuff we already know.” Tatl muttered at seeing it while Jaune just placed it in his bag-he really liked this new bag as it was holding the Deku Mask, Deku Nuts and his Ocarina along with this Notebook.

Giving one last nod to the Salesman, Jaune and Tatl exited the Clock Tower, being back in the Town Square.

“That mask,” Tatl muttered looking down. “To think that Skull Kid would use it for such terrible things. And we’re the only ones capable of doing something about it.”

“There’s just one problem.” Jaune said confusing Tatl. “I’ve never actually been in a fight until recently and I don’t have any training in using my sword.”

Still he should count himself lucky that he has it back attached to his waist.

“There’s a training school for swordsman in West Clock Town.” Tatl brought up, catching Jaune’s attention. “Actually I want to try something, play that song again.”

“The Song of Healing?” Jaune asked in confusion.

“No the other one that caused us to go back in time.” Tatl explained, with Jaune blinking before giving it a go, pulling out his Ocarina.

The result was opening his eyes as he walked out of the tower, at the beginning of the first day despite it being an hour or so afterwards.

“Just as I thought, it wasn’t a one-time thing.” Tatl said with Jaune giving a slight whistle.

“And this is the farthest we can go back, too bad, otherwise we would’ve gone back to before Skull Kid took that mask.” Jaune said before realizing how they could use this to their advantage.

If he learned some basic swordsmanship, he could use the Song of Time to keep learning it until he fully mastered it-that could give him an advantage.

Tatl went quiet before speaking. “Swamp. Mountain. Ocean. Canyon.” She said repeating Tael’s words from that night. “I bet he was referring to the four areas just outside of town, there’s one in each compass area.”

“That’s convenient but what did your brother mean by the four who are there?” Jaune asked as Tatl gave the fairy equivalent of a shrug.

“Don’t know, he usually skips out on stuff like this,” Tatl said trying to sound upbeat on the chances of Tael’s possible revival. “We’ll just need to find out, but you need training to avoid the monsters.”

“So you do have Grimm.” Jaune said with the two now heading for West Clock Town, he paused to get some Rupee’s as going back in time seemed to have gotten rid of them.

“I have no idea what your ‘Grimm’ are but the monsters outside of town aren’t a joke unless you’re trained,” Tatl told him and eventually they made it to the building called ‘The Mighty Training Center’. “Well here we are.”

Taking a breath, Jaune opened the door finding them inside of what looked to be a dojo, where a young man with long brown hair sat in a meditative stance wearing a brown vest and blue pants.

“Welcome to my School, I take it you’re here to learn the art of swordsmanship?” The Swordsman asked seeing the sheathed weapon with Jaune.

Jaune gave a nod as he walked forward. “I heard… Rumors of your skill and I wish to learn.” He said hesitating a bit.

“Very well.” The man pressed a button and a log shot out of the ground near Jaune. “For the price of one Rupee, I shall teach you the art of combat.”

Giving a blink at that, Jaune figured it was a pretty decent trade for him and pulled one Rupee out, tossing it to the man as he caught it easily.

“Very well, first before you draw your weapon I need you to learn how to move unarmed.” The man said standing up as he walked next to Jaune. “Follow my movements.”

With speed that Jaune wasn’t expecting the man jumped to the side, keeping his focus on the log before doing a back flip to jump back making Jaune balk.

“Well?” The Swordsman asked with a quirked brow. “You’ll need to know this if you wish to survive out there, Swordsmanship is more than swinging your sword, you won’t last long if you get hit.”

Giving a nod, Jaune got the side jump down pretty easily but it was when he tried to do a back flip that he ended up on his stomach before he could finish it.

Despite the friendship that he and Tatl shared in the last three days, he could hear her chuckling, the ringing sound being a giveaway making him look at her as she quickly got a hold of herself.

“Don’t worry, no one gets it on the first try.” The Swordsman said with a slight chuckle. “This is only your first day.”

Pushing himself up, ignoring the pain Jaune gritted his teeth and continued.

Eventually after a few more falls, he managed to get a back flip done, stumbling as he landed.

“Good, good, now keep practicing until it becomes second nature.” The man said nodding approvingly as Jaune showed a lot of promise so far.

Not many people can master doing a back flip like that with no extra movement for days and yet Jaune managed to get this part of it down in only a few hours.

It was when he saw Jaune do a back flip three times in a row, landing it that he spoke again. “Now try to do a roll dodge,” He said seeing Jaune panting with sweat on his brow. “... You don’t wish to remove your hoodie?”

It was a bit hot outside so doing this must be close to heatstroke for him.

Jaune shook his head. “This is my armor, if I can’t dodge with it on, I won’t live long.” He said with the Swordsman giving a bark of laughter.

“I think I might like you,” He said in amusement before performing a roll dodge, immediately getting to his feet not even a second after finishing it. “You would be amazed at how often this one can save your life in a pinch.”

Taking a deep breath, Jaune tried a dodge roll only for the Swordsman to shake his head.

“You’re doing it all wrong, don’t dive for the floor like you see a Silver Rupee,” He snapped surprising Jaune. “You have to tuck and roll on the spot, imagine a spear or a sword swinging in an arc towards you, then try to roll under it, that’s the dodge roll.”

‘ _ Tuck and roll. _ ’ Jaune thought as he looked at Tatl who has been quiet ever since he started this before doing just that, only he couldn’t get to his feet fast enough.

“Hm… Stay here,” The Swordsman walked off confusing Jaune before he came back with a wooden sword. “Alright here’s the deal, I’m going to swing this at you, you’re going to use what I just taught you to dodge.”

“Wha-?” Jaune couldn’t finish as the Swordsman did a horizontal strike, hitting Jaune in the gut, knocking him off his feet.

“You’re dead.” The Swordsman said dryly as Jaune gripped his gut in pain. “I taught you the basics of dodging, you need to use them now.”

With that he made Jaune get up and swung but this time Jaune was ready, jumping back-not doing a back flip-while the Swordsman lunged with an overhead strike hitting Jaune on the head with a loud crack that had the blonde seeing stars.

“... This might take awhile.” The Swordsman muttered to himself.

** _~Night of the First Day~_ **

** _-60 Hours Remain-_ **

Tatl watched with more interest as Jaune who was practically black and blue right now was weaving left and right around the sword as if he’s been doing it his entire life.

Pain was a great motivator to learn this quickly and despite being tired and sore, Jaune looked like he was having fun and enjoying this.

“Hyah!” The Swordsman tried an overhead strike as Jaune performed a perfect Dodge Roll, actually rolling until he was right behind the Swordsman.

If he was using a sword and did that on an enemy he would’ve had a chance to attack from behind.

“Heh, I think that’s enough for the day.” The Swordsman said placing the wooden sword down. “Just keep practicing your dodging techniques and you’ll be fine. Tomorrow we’ll start on you using that sword of yours.”

Jaune gave a nod looking relieved at stopping but he also had a bit of interest in his eyes.

He was finally on his way to learning how to effectively use Crocea Mors.

Waving good-bye to the Swordsman, Jaune let out a pained sigh as he walked outside with Tatl. “That was one of the most painful experiences of my life.” He said looking at Tatl.

“Painful or not it’s a good experience.” Tatl told him with Jaune agreeing with her before she paused. “Jaune look.”

Blinking, Jaune turned towards the direction that Tatl was looking at to see the Stray Fairy flying around.

Eyes blinking, Jaune tensed as he remembered the Great Fairy telling him to speak with her again once he regained his true form.

So he walked forward and gently grabbed the Great Fairy as it was flying a bit close. “Well I guess I know our plans for tonight.” He said to Tatl who gave a nod.

* * *

It took a bit to get to the Northern part of Clock Town but it was well worth it when he entered the Great Fairy Fountain, feeling re-energized when he stepped into the pond, his bruises from earlier disappearing as the Great Fairy became whole once more.

“Hello Tatl and you kind young one, I see you regained your true form.” The Great Fairy said with a smile, Jaune’s eyes widening.

“Y-You remember?!” He asked in surprise.

Truth be told he didn’t think that she would remember him.

“I know many things young Arc, I see that you’ve taken to the magic I’ve gifted you with.” She said taking note of his ears. “I also know what you must do, but allow me to give you some help.”

“Thank you Great Fairy.” Tatl said with gratitude in her tone.

“Don’t thank me yet your journey is a perilous one, but one that must be taken,” The Great Fairy said in a somber tone. “You will face many challenges in the four temples that you must brave.”

“Four temples?” Jaune asked in confusion before Tatl lit up a bit. “Huh?”

“It’s what Tael said.” Tatl elaborated to the blonde. “I think there’s a temple in each area.”

“And a Fairy Fountain in each temple, the Great Fairies in each one were broken apart far worse than me, they shall give you help if you help them reform,” The Great Fairy said holding her hand out as a mask appeared much to Jaune’s confusion. “Take this young one.”

Slowly he accepted the mask of the Great Fairy’s face.

“This mask has the power that will attract the Stray Fairies to you once you’re in a certain vicinity as while you wear it they will not fear you,” The Great Fairy told him. “Once you do so take them to the Fountain and all will be made clear.”

With that she disappeared into the Fountain leaving Jaune and Tatl in silence.

“A-All of the Great Fairies are shattered?” Tatl sounded very nervous.

“It seems that way.” Jaune muttered putting the mask in his bag next to the Deku Mask.

With that they exited the Fairy Fountain to see that it was getting late.

Normally he would’ve looked for a place to rest, but Jaune was completely energized after being in the Fairy Fountain. It was like a double shot of espresso.

“Alright let’s take some inventory,” Jaune muttered looking at his bag. “I have two masks, my Ocarina, Deku Nuts, the Bombers Notebook which is kind of useless, and Crocea Mors.”

“Crocea what?” Tatl looked at him in confusion.

“My Sword and Shield,” Jaune elaborated earning an ‘Oh.’ “And I also have Magic along with that… That’s actually not a bad set of equipment.”

In fact if he was being honest with himself he had a better chance of becoming a Huntsman now… If he makes it back home in one piece. He also had his Scroll but he didn’t pull it out because he hasn’t seen any tech like it so he knew it wouldn’t have anything to connect to so he wouldn’t use it to tell time or anything really.

Shaking his head, he looked at Tatl. “So what time is it?”

Looking up at the sky, Tatl spoke. “Close to one in the morning-.”

“Ouch! Watch where you’re going!” Jaune looked towards the voice to see an elderly woman on the ground while a man grabbed her bag and began to run. “Stop! Thief! I’m just an old lady, give me my luggage back!”

Eyes widening, Jaune intervened before the man got too far, pulling his sword out and hitting the thief before the man could react, making him drop the bag. It was a light cut because the man did manage to take a step back and now had fear in his eyes as he took off running.

Instead of giving chase however, Jaune picked up the bag and ran to the elderly lady. “Are you alright ma’am?” He asked in concern helping her up.

He couldn’t believe that someone just tried to rob an old lady like that.

“Thank you young man, since he didn’t make off with my bag I can finally stock Big Bomb Bags at the Bomb Shop.” The elderly woman said with Jaune’s eyes widened.

B-Bomb?

These were explosives he was carrying?!

She didn’t seem to notice his panicked look as he gave her the bag back.

The lady paused and pulled out a mask she had in the bag. “Here, this is for the trouble you just went through,” She said as the mask had a skull and crossbones emblem on it. “It’s a dangerous mask but maybe you can use it to throw your own fireworks festival.”

Jaune slowly accepted the mask with some red in his face. “You don’t have to, I didn’t help to be rewarded.”

That made the lady smile. “You’re a sweet young man but don’t worry about it, giving you the Bomb Mask is the least I can do, if you’re ever in East Clock Town come by the Bomb Shop and check our wares.” She said slowly walking off.

“... Bomb Mask?” Jaune asked looking at the mask as she was out of sight.

“I’ve heard of it, it’s rumored that whoever wears it becomes a living bomb.” Tatl said nearly making Jaune drop it.

“Okay not wearing this one.”

Tatl rolled her eyes. “Oh don’t be a baby Jaune, it doesn’t kill you-don’t get me wrong it will hurt but you can survive it.”

Hesitating, Jaune placed it in his bag. “Man I’m starting up a collection of them.” He muttered as he had three masks now.

“Still she said something about selling Bomb Bags, those could be useful,” Tatl told him with Jaune despite the uneasiness with having explosives agreeing. “We should scrounge up some Rupees and buy a bag.”

“Never know when you would need a bomb.” Jaune muttered as he and Tatl spent the night gathering Rupees before he found himself in the Laundry Pool-mostly to drink some water from the river before he heard music.

Feeling curious, Jaune followed it to find a bald man with a brunette goatee wearing a blue shirt and shorts, playing some sort of music box.

He didn’t stop as he took notice of Jaune, in fact he seemed happy to be having some sort of audience. “La-la-la… They said I was too loud when I practiced in the Hotel Room. They got mad. Sigh… Now I’m sad. I’ll just think about the past to keep my mind off the bad,” He sang in tandem with his music. “Ah yes, I’ll do that.”

He then stopped playing.

“Dear spectator… Long ago I was in an animal troupe with dogs and donkeys and such,” He began a wistful smile on his face before he began playing again. “Why could a…? Why could a…? Why could a man join?!? That’s ‘cause a man is an animal too, my boy!”

‘ _ A lot of people back home don’t think that. _ ’ Jaune thought remembering the strife between Humanity and Faunus.

“They were all great, but there was one thing I didn’t like about it…” With that the man began to play faster in anger. “Why was the…? Why was the…? Why was the dog the leader?!? Was it ‘cause something was wrong with me, sir???

“Uh Jaune I’m not so sure about him.” Tatl whispered.

“Me neither.” Jaune replied but he wasn’t sure how to leave without being rude.

“Oh, that dog was an amazing leader! He always had a stellar troupe no matter what animals he had to work with,” The man chuckled. “That’s why I… That’s why I… That’s why I stole it… The dog’s mask. I stole it.”

With that said he stopped playing completely.

“I wanted it because it was the leaders mask… But I no longer need it so I’ll give it to you.”

Jaune blinked as he was given a bird-like mask.

“That right there is the Bremen Mask, use it well.” He said standing up to leave while playing his music.

Jaune slowly looked at Tatl. “When I said I was starting up a collection, I was joking.” He said as this was the fourth mask he received in one day.

“Termina is well known for making masks with unique abilities,” Tatl told him. “It might be worth it to find as many as you can get.”

“Right.” Jaune muttered pocketing the mask.

** _~Dawn of the Second Day~_ **

** _-48 Hours Remain-_ **

It took a bit of asking around, but Jaune managed to find the Bomb Shop the next morning after he spent the night exploring the town a bit more, he managed to find up to 200 Rupees ensuring that he would be able to buy a few things.

It helped that if he went back in time with the Rupees still there but that also meant all the ones he gathers are lost in the process.

“Welcome to the Bomb Shop.” Jaune saw a bald man wearing a black vest standing behind the counter. “How may I help you?”

Before Jaune could speak, he heard another voice. “Oh that’s the young man who stopped that dreaded thief from stealing our goods.” He looked over to see the elderly woman from the other night.

“Morning ma’am.” Jaune greeted politely while the man behind the counter blinked.

“Huh so yer the one who helped me mum out?” The man asked this time with a smile. “I have to thank you for that, what can I get for you?”

“I’m here to buy a bomb bag.” Jaune said not believing he said that.

“A bomb bag huh?” The man cupped his chin in thought. “We have the big ones and usually they’re 150 Rupees, but since you helped Mum out, I can cut 60 off, how does that sound?”

Seeing that it would cost 90 Rupees, Jaune agreed and pulled the right amount out handing it to the man who in turn handed a brown bag to Jaune.

“This bag holds up to thirty bombs, don’t take them out unless you plan on using them,” The man warned Jaune who blinked in confusion. “The bag is enchanted to ensure that while they’re in there none of them will blow up, however if you take one out it’ll spark the fuse, giving you five seconds to get rid of it.”

“Got it.” Jaune said happy to receive that warning.

With his new Bomb Bag put up in his gear sack, Jaune was back at the Swordsman School, the Swordsman having him slice through a log with his sword.

“Hm, good attempt but not good enough.” The Swordsman said humming to himself. “You need to be more precise, a good swordsman knows when and where to strike while only a fool swings randomly.”

Jaune gave a nod ignoring the slight against him as he really needed to learn this and tried another horizontal strike.

This time it sliced right through the log making Jaune blink as the Swordsman gave a bark of laughter.

“Do it again.” He said another log replacing it as Jaune focused and did that. “Heh I guess we’ll move onto the Vertical Cut now.”

As the next log showed up, the Swordsman showed Jaune how to cut and Jaune gave it a try cutting through it, this time he caught a green glow from his sword and felt a little exhausted.

‘ _ Am I using my Magic for this? _ ’ Jaune thought in surprise.

At least it was more useful than the snot bubble-okay he was lying the snot bubble was pretty useful in distracting and grossing out Skull Kid.

“Try thrusting next.” The Swordsman said with Jaune focusing this time the green glow was more noticeable. “Ooh a magic user?”

Jaune hesitated unsure if this was bad or not as the Swordsman laughed.

“This is better, if you focus enough you can use it to enhance your attacks power, although I wouldn’t fully rely on it as you can only use so much.” The Swordsman explained to him with Jaune soaking that up. “Alright now thrust and then try a jump attack.”

Thinking the jump attack was that overhead strike the man used against him the other day, Jaune did just that slicing into the log with the first thrust before jumping back to get some room to perform the jump attack, this one slicing the log right down in the middle.

“Those are the basic sword techniques,” The Swordsman said with a smile. “That is all I can teach you at this time, once you master them, come back and I’ll teach you more advanced techniques alright?”

Jaune gave a nod but he felt a twinge of sadness.

It was more likely that it wouldn’t happen because he had to play the Song of Time the next day and this man won’t remember him,but he knew the basics of dodging and attacking. He just needed to practice and get some experience in fighting.

“Alright let’s find a monster to test your training on.” Tatl said the two of them leaving Clock Town. “The sooner you get this done the sooner we can head for one of the four areas to look into what Tael told us.”

“You mean the temples?” Jaune asked with Tatl nodding. “Which one should we head to first?”

“The Swamp, it’s straight ahead from the Clock Tower so it would be easy to start with.” Tatl explained before Jaune blinked at seeing a green slime creature with big teeth and two stalk-like eyes giving it the appearance of a snail, moving around in a grassy area. “Careful that’s a Green Chuchu, it’s nothing to really be afraid of, in fact the remains after killing it can be used for potions to replenish your Magic.”

“So basically a good start for me to test my training?” As Tatl nodded to that, Jaune unsheathed the weapon and lunged at the Chuchu.

It just took one slice and it was dead with Jaune blinking.

That was it?

“Don’t get cocky, like I said it’s a Chuchu, they’re weak but numerous and they revive themselves after a minute or two,” Tatl explained surprising Jaune. “Come on, we should find some tougher opponents for you to test against. Maybe a Peahat or a Dodongo?”

Jaune blinked unsure what those were but he was a little interested.

How hard would they be?

_ **To Be Continued...** _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, this one is a bit more of a filler chapter with Jaune finally back to being human along with learning the basics of Swordsmanship via the Mighty Training Center, got a few masks and even a Bomb Bag-I think he’s doing pretty well so far.
> 
> But of course he has a long way to go if he hopes to survive this mess, but I think anyone in this position in real life would take advantage of the rewinding time part to work on their skills and train themselves before actually doing something.
> 
> Also I wanted to add something to when Jaune becomes human again as the Goron and Zora Mask got their own tearful cutscene but not the Deku, so hope you liked it.


	4. Into the Swamp

** _~Night of the Second Day~_ **

** _-36 Hours Remain-_ **

“For the record I blame you!” Jaune shouted having to duck as a stream of fire shot over his head.

After deciding to listen to Tatl about finding a tougher opponent, he eventually found a cave that held two Dodongo’s. What Tatl failed to mention was that they were freaking dinosaur like creatures bigger than a car that can breathe fire.

His hair was already singed from that.

“Relax they’re still young so they’re not that big-.” Tatl tried with Jaune whirling around to balk at her, having to jump back to avoid being cooked.

“They get bigger?!?”

“Not the point,” Tatl said with Jaune taking cover behind a huge rock as fire blasted it, the flames shooting around them, nearly melting the rock. “Because it’s young their tails are the weak points or you can throw a bomb and it’ll eat them.”

“They eat bombs?” Jaune asked incredulously.

“I didn’t say they were smart, Dodongo’s are usually pretty stupid.” Tatl said with a shrug.

Giving a sigh, Jaune found himself lucky he still wasn’t a Deku Scrub otherwise he would have burned up pretty fast. Still he had to focus. So reaching into his Gear, he produced a bomb, the fuse lighting immediately due to the air reaching it.

Counting to three, Jaune chucked it and the Dodongo opened its mouth catching it, the bomb exploding immediately as it collapsed winded.

‘ _ It’s not dead?! _ ’ Jaune thought bewildered before realizing the second one was missing.

He could tell where it was when he heard an intake of breath behind him and he dove over the rock to dodge another fire blast, running as soon as it let up to get behind the first Dodongo, using Crocea Mors to stab its tail-why was it blinking red now?

“Get back they explode when they die.” Tatl warned too late, Jaune having to use his shield to block the blast, his clothes being torn a bit as he was sent skidding across the ground, sparks coming off the armor parts.

“You could’ve warned me that beforehand.” Jaune muttered dazed in pain but the thundering footsteps of the second Dodongo brought him back to reality despite his ears ringing from the blast.

“Sorry, I keep forgetting you’re from not from Termina, it’s common knowledge about Dodongo’s exploding upon death.” Tatl apologized to the blonde as he pushed himself up. “If you’re not up to it we should go.”

“No let’s finish this.” Jaune muttered as if he ran his training wouldn’t mean much.

Sure it could be argued that he definitely improved considering what he just took down but he needed to improve further. Besides what kind of hero ran away from a fight?

Tatl looked at Jaune before giving a nod.

It was his choice after all.

So, Jaune got ready and threw a Deku Nut, the blinding flash making the Dodongo back up in pain as Jaune used that to his advantage to move behind it, however the Dodongo heard him and spun around, his tail catching Jaune by surprise as he felt blinding pain in his ribs showing he might’ve broken one and was sent flying back into the wall where he tasted iron.

“Jaune?!” Tatl quickly took the attention off of him by flying around the Dodongo making it snap at her. “Get out of here!”

Jaune gritted his teeth as he pushed himself up, gasping in pain now knowing that he wouldn’t make it far with this injury slowing him down and the Dodongo would no doubt take advantage of that.

So he moved as silently as possible while Tatl was keeping the Dodongo distracted before lunging as he cut the tail right off with the Dodongo roaring in pain, now blinking.

This time Jaune dove out of the way, dodging the explosion but he grimaced as he rolled to his feet.

Oh man that was painful-.

Tatl added to that by tackling his head.

“Are you an idiot?!” Tatl shouted at him while Jaune rubbed his head. “I told you to run, you could’ve gotten yourself killed.”

“Hey we lived right?” Jaune asked with a grin but Tatl was glaring at him.

“Through sheer dumb luck, if you died everyone would be screwed or have you forgotten only you can travel back in time?”

… Okay Tatl had a point about that, Termina would be screwed if the only person capable of rewinding time to prevent the end of the world died because of stubborness.

Seeing that Jaune got what she was implying, Tatl’s wings drooped. “Don’t get me wrong, you’re getting better, but you need to be careful.”

Jaune gave a nod at that.

“... How bad is it?” Tatl asked as she saw how Jaune seemed to be favoring his left side a bit.

“I think I broke a rib.” Jaune answered honestly wincing as movement hurt. “Should I play the Song of Time?”

“I don’t think that would work, do the injuries heal?”

“Maybe? I mean I was fine when we did it the first time after getting thrashed by Skull Kid, but I was too preoccupied trying to make sense of it to be sure.” Jaune said with a shrug.

Tatl went quiet in thought before speaking. “Let’s get you to the Fairy Fountain, it’ll heal your injuries up.”

** _~Dawn of the Final Day~_ **

** _-24 Hours Remain-_ **

Jaune sighed in relief as after a long, painful walk his ribs did seem to mend when he was in the Fairy Fountain, it was painful when it did mend but the relief outweighed it.

The Great Fairy just looked at him in amusement before looking at Tatl. “You realize my Fountain isn’t a hospital right?” She asked with Tatl looking a bit sheepish as she tried to explain but the Great Fairy gave a small laugh. “Don’t worry I don’t mind, I think I can make an exception for him as long as the Skull Kid remains an issue.”

“Thank you Great Fairy.” Tatl bowed her head as Jaune stood up before she looked at him, hissing. “Show your gratitude.”

Jaune looked a bit put off by that but he gave a slight bow as he remembered that the Great Fairy seemed to be revered by the other fairies for some reason and he didn’t want to accidentally offend her.

Thankfully the Great Fairy seemed more amused than anything else.

“It’s getting close to when you’ll have to restart the whole cycle isn’t it?” The Great Fairy asked with Jaune hearing the annoyance in her tone showing she would be back to being broken again.

“If you can remember the rewinds, why can Skull Kid still break you apart?” Jaune asked curiously because the first time she said that Skull Kid caught her off guard.

“You can only go back three days and I was shattered a bit before that,” The Great Fairy elaborated to him. “But with that mask on him, I doubt I’ll be much help against him anyways.”

There was some bitterness in her tone now at that making Jaune look away before sighing. “Right, well I’m going to go practice a bit more, thank you for letting me heal here.”

“Mr. Arc a moment,” The Great Fairy spoke up right before he could leave, the blonde turning towards her. “When you start the cycle over again, might I suggest playing the Song of Time backwards when you do?”

“Play it… Backwards?” Jaune asked surprised to hear that but the Great Fairy just smiled and disappeared into the Fountain once more. “Any idea what she means?”

“You’re asking the wrong fairy.” Tatl said dryly as she still didn’t understand how that Ocarina of his worked.

** _~Night of the Final Day~_ **

** _-12 Hours Remain-_ **

It was strange to see the town so empty again as Jaune walked through it after spending the day training, looking around with a sigh before he blinked at seeing a familiar face. “Oh hey Jim.” He said to the leader of the Bombers.

Jim whirled around and gave him a suspicious look. “Who are you?” He asked not knowing him with Jaune blinking before doing a facepalm. “How do you know my name?”

Right he only met Jim as a Deku Scrub but more than that everything started over, so even if he met Jim in his normal form he wouldn’t have remembered him.

This would be confusing.

“... Lucky guess?” Jaune tried with Jim keep giving him a suspicious look before Tatl intervened.

“Don’t mind him, he heard your name walking around, we’re tourists.” She said with Jim giving a nod.

“Right, well if you need anything the Bombers will always help out.” Jim said before he walked off. “Have to get home though.”

As soon as he was out of sight, Tatl looked at Jaune. “What was that?”

“Forgot he wouldn’t remember me,” Jaune muttered with a sigh before looking up at the moon which stared menacingly back. “Just like how the Swordsman won’t remember me.”

Heh, he doesn’t even know the guy’s name but the man was awesome, both as a teacher and as a person.

Tatl went quiet now seeing what he meant. “By the Goddesses that would be confusing.”

Jaune gave a nod. “How many times would we have to do this before we stop Skull Kid?”

He was already dreading the next time because he did one run, played it a second time to experiment with it and now he would do it again soon. Sure it was because if he didn’t the moon would crash into the world, but it was like he had a clean slate everytime the only person remembering besides him would be Tatl and the Great Fairy.

“As many as it takes.” Tatl said with Jaune agreeing with her. “Should we go ahead and rewind?”

“... Let me say goodbye to the Swordsman.” Jaune said as despite it only being three days the Swordsman taught him a lot and the man wouldn’t even remember.

So he wanted to give his thanks.

With that decided, he headed for the school with Tatl flying behind him, the two ignoring the ground shaking as some of Clock Town’s inhabitants moved to get home quickly.

It was sad to see them so panicked but there wasn’t anything he could do at this very moment.

Eventually they made it to the school and opened it only to pause as it was empty. “Hello?” Jaune called out hoping that the man would show himself if he heard Jaune’s voice. “Sir are you here?”

“Jaune there’s a note.” Tatl said flying towards the wall where the Swordsman usually sits.

Walking towards it, Jaune read the note. ‘ _ I’ll be on Vacation for a short while. Please don’t look for me. _ ’

“Oh.” Jaune said a bit saddened by that as Tatl flew on his shoulder.

“We should go.” She said as they turned to leave only to hear something fall.

Both of them turned towards the wall as they heard a bit of a whimper.

Quickly unsheathing his sword, Jaune slowly approached the wall before seeing that it looked weird so placing his hand on it, it gave away to show a hidden passageway. Naturally feeling curious, Jaune walked down the passageway to come into a storage room where the Swordsman was huddled in a corner shaking.

“S-Sir?” Jaune quickly sheathed his sword and ran to the man’s side.

“Uuuuuurgh!” The Swordsman whispered not even looking at Jaune as he shook. “I’m scared… I can’t take it! I don’t want to die.”

Jaune took a step back in shock at that.

The man while teaching Jaune was amazing, he threw a lot at him, helped him learn and yet here he was cowering away in fear.

… Because there wasn’t anything he could do.

How would one stop the moon from falling? In fact in the first run he felt the same hopelessness that this man was obviously feeling, he was scared out of his mind.

This was just reminding people of how small they truly were.

“Jaune, we should go.” Tatl said softly. “He obviously doesn’t want anyone to see him.”

Jaune however shook the man. “Get a hold of yourself.” He said snapping the Swordsman out of his fear.

“Y-You?” The Swordsman looked ashamed at being caught like this. “What are you doing here?”

“I came to see you, why are you here hiding?” Jaune asked with the man tensing before he gave a slight laugh.

“What else can we do about that thing hanging around outside?! It’s the end what else is there to do?”

Jaune looked down. “So you’re hiding like this because you’re scared?” He asked unable to believe that despite seeing it.

That made the Swordsman look at Jaune with a glare. “Don’t act all high and mighty, I can tell you’re scared too, what do you think we can do about that thing?!?”

“I might be scared but at least I’m doing something.” Jaune snapped at him before Tatl pulled on his hood.

“Jaune your yelling isn’t helping.” Tatl told him with the blonde wincing.

He just… He actually looked up to this man after learning under him and to see him act like this.

“It doesn’t matter, nothing can stop this.” The man said with Jaune clenching his fists.

“You’re wrong, there is a way to stop it.” Jaune said looking at the man. “I promise you that it will be.”

“Don’t make an empty promise boy, it’s unbecoming of a swordsman.”

“So is hiding like this,” Jaune said standing up to leave but he paused. “And it’s not an empty promise, an Arc never goes back on their word.”

As he left the Swordsman looked down still trembling but the words went through his head a bit before he looked up at the roof as if seeing the moon. “Is this truly the end?”

“Why would you do that?” Tatl asked him. “You do realize he won’t remember this at all when we go back, it’s for nothing.”

“I know.” Jaune said swallowing. “I just-. I reacted badly I’ll admit.”

It didn’t help that the Swordsman was right because he was just as bad when he was trapped as a Scrub, but he at least tried to do something.

Tatl gave a slow nod right when Jaune pulled the Ocarina out and began playing it.

He barely hit the last note when the Swordsman came out with his sword, determination on his face ready to at least try, but it all disappeared in a flash of white.

** _~Dawn of the First Day~_ **

** _-72 Hours Remain-_ **

Jaune sighed as he walked out of Clock Tower with Tatl behind him back on the first day. “So yet another run.” He said with Tatl giving a nod.

His clothes seemed to be repaired as well so there was that, but he was now Rupeeless again.

“Might as well get started.” Tatl said with the two heading out to have the blonde practice his sword techniques.

* * *

It was the same routine for quite awhile.

Practice for three days, get some experience slaying monsters usually the Dodongo’s and the Peahats-those last ones making Jaune unsure of which was more terrifying as they were some sort of flying plant with its weakness being its root, however it was protected by a circle of bladed leaves that spun in a circle-then it was time to play the Song of Time once more.

It was during this routine that he tried out the advice that the Great Fairy gave him and much to his surprise playing the Song of Time backwards actually slowed time itself down-it didn’t really affect the people all that much, just the flow of time itself so he was able to give himself more time to practice with.

Deciding to call it the Song of Inverted Time, Jaune was really milking it for all it was worth with practicing and he was feeling a lot more confident about his chances after the twelfth time playing the Song of Time.

Thirty-Six days of practice since he got here, about a month or so if he remembers correctly.

Man his sense of timing will be skewered if he gets back to Remnant.

Still not much happened except for him getting yet another mask from some dancing guy in Termina Fields after he ended up playing the Song of Healing for him.

It was called the Kamaro’s Mask and all it did was have him dance like the guy.

Well that and it seemed that his traveling back in time had an effect on the Bomber’s Notebook as it seemed to be repairing itself by showing the events he already did. Truth be told, Jaune isn’t sure how that worked, maybe it had something to do with his Ocarina?

Still he’s been using the blank pages to write down his progress-kind of a makeshift journal and all as well as writing down the places in Clock Town where he found Silver Rupees in case he needed them.

Jaune found himself wondering if time was repeating in Remnant as well or has he been missing for a month? If he was then his parents must be worried sick for him because he left a note saying he was heading to Beacon.

Chances are they would’ve checked and if he hasn’t shown up it would be horrifying for them.

Just thinking about that has done nothing but made him feel miserable.

“Hey you ready?” Tatl asked bringing Jaune’s attention from the Bomber’s Notebook before he closed it.

“I am, so we’re heading for the Swamp right?” He asked double checking his inventory as he liked to call it.

Turns out the bag was enchanted in a second way besides having infinite space-it was enchanted to where a person just needed to think about what to grab and they were able to find it easily which would make it extremely easy if he needed to switch to his bombs or Deku Nuts.

“Yeah the Swamp is home to a kingdom of Deku Scrubs, they usually keep to themselves though.” Tatl explained with Jaune blinking before realizing that meant he might have to use his Deku Form to get around.

Well it wasn’t too bad because he can switch to and from being that, besides he would learn more about the Deku’s by doing that.

Still he did have a deadline.

“Let’s get going.”

* * *

Once more Jaune was in Termina Fields and was walking towards the Swamp Area a feeling of adventure coursing through him.

After spending what felt like a month of confining himself to the town, he will admit to being a little excited about what lay further ahead.

Tatl gave a gasp however as they passed a hollow log and flew on ahead, throwing Jaune through a loop before he ran after her to see her stopping by a tree with a peculiar drawing on it.

It took Jaune a second to see that it was a drawing of Skull Kid before he had the mask along with a purple and white dot that was more than likely Tatl and Tael.

Jaune kept quiet when Tatl spoke. “I remember this,” Tatl said sounding like she was close to crying. “Tael and I drew this with Skull Kid when we first met him.”

Just seeing this made Jaune remember what happened to Tael and he knew that Tatl was thinking the same thing before she continued.

“He told us he has been fighting with his friends and they left him all alone,” Tatl whispered surprising Jaune. “We found him curled up inside of the hollow log on a cold, stormy night crying.”

Jaune hesitated finding that hard to believe from what he knew of Skull Kid.

But he had to remind himself that Skull Kid wasn’t always this heartless monster he saw.

“Back then, Skull Kid was childish and at times a little selfish but it was because he was afraid of being abandoned, he loved to pull pranks but always made sure to never take it too far,” Tatl whispered her wings drooping. “H-He even went hungry one day to ensure Tael and I ate once… So why?”

That question caught Jaune off guard.

“Why did he kill Tael? Why is he trying to destroy the world? It doesn’t make any sense,” Tatl said and this time she was crying. “That isn’t Skull Kid, there’s no way it is.”

As she cried, Jaune looked back at the drawing and saw the beak on the Skull Kid’s face drawn into a smile and he knew that Tatl had a point. It made no sense.

“I… I don’t know Skull Kid like you,” Jaune began his voice catching Tatl’s attention. “I can’t say anything about what he was like or why he’s doing this but he needs to be stopped regardless.”

“I know,” Tatl snapped at him. “But that doesn’t make this any easier.”

“I would’ve been worried if it did,” Jaune told her concern on his face. “Do you need a minute?”

Tatl looked from Jaune to the drawing before speaking. “No, we need to hurry before it’s too late.”

* * *

It was a pretty quiet trek towards the Swamp after that moment, neither Jaune or Tatl said anything but it was broken by a wolf’s howl as a silver furred wolf ran out of the tree lines.

Tatl quickly got to work as Jaune unsheathed his weapons a bit freaked as he thought this was a Beowolf at first. “Careful it’s a Wolfos,” She said urgently to Jaune. “Their forelegs are armored and they are adept at blocking attacks, lure them in and watch their movements. They really don’t like their tails being touched as it’s unarmored.”

Giving a nod as he heard that, Jaune quickly blocked a strike from the Wolfos and jumped back before jumping to the side but the Wolfos was smart enough to avoid leaving its tail unguarded as it was turning with him.

‘ _ Wait watch their movements… That means that it follows a pattern. _ ’ Jaune thought jumping back again his eyes looking over the Wolfos before realizing it pauses to take a breath for two seconds.

Not that much time but it was the only window of opportunity that he had.

So gripping Crocea Mors, Jaune jumped out of the way of the next two swipes before rushing in as the Wolfos was breathing heavily, stabbing its tail with enough force to make it erupt into flames, killing it.

Giving a slight smile, Jaune sheathed Crocea Mors. “I think I’m getting the hang of this.”

“Don’t get too cocky.” Tatl reprimanded him in amusement this fight seemingly taking her mind off of what happened.

Jaune was about to answer when he heard a few more howls and saw four more Wolfos running out showing that he only killed one of a pack.

“Okay time to go.” Tatl said as Jaune only fought one on one with these monsters or two on one considering the first encounter with the Dodongo.

Giving a nod, Jaune got moving.

It didn’t take long to lose them as now they were walking on. “You alright Jaune?” Tatl asked as they moved seeing a frown on his face.

The reply was immediate. “I’m fine.”

He was a little sore that they had to run from four Wolfos when he’s heard stories of how some Huntsmen can easily slice through a legion of Beowolves.

Was his training even doing anything?

Shaking his head, Jaune continued on with Tatl giving him a look that showed she didn’t believe him but she didn’t push as they made it to a lake, a sign calling this place Southern Swamp passing by an owl statue.

There was a dock with a boathouse up on a platform above the lake that looked pretty nasty-why did it look purple near a cave where a giant monster was staying?

In fact why was that monster just staying there instead of attacking?

A bit on edge, Jaune casually grabbed a rock and tossed it into the purple part of the lake.

The sizzling sound it made did nothing to calm him down. “Oh great an acid lake.”

“That’s not right, the lake is supposed to be clear.” Tatl said in shock as she’s been here before.

‘ _ I wonder if Skull Kid had something to do with this. _ ’ Jaune thought not putting it past the guy before wondering how the rest of the lake remained poison free.

“Ho-ho-ho-ho-hoot!” A voice made Jaune jump as he turned to see a rather large owl settled on top of the statue that looked eerily like it. “This is a rare sight. You are a fairy child, correct?”

“Fairy Child?” Jaune asked in confusion his brain trying to process that he was talking to an Owl.

Then again he seen a lot of other weird stuff that this was rather tame in comparison.

Ignoring the question, the Owl spoke. “What business do you have in this poisoned swamp?” He tilted his head curiously. “If you dare not pass any further, I shall pass no judgement. It is better that you retreat until you are ready to return.”

That made Jaune glare at the owl but he felt some relief.

He wouldn’t be judged at least for not being ready, that was the last thing he needed with everything going on.

“This Swamp you are in lost its Guardian Deity, but it was destined to fade anyway.” The Owl spoke making Tatl perk up.

“Guardian Deity, that must be one of the four we were sent to retrieve.” She whispered with Jaune frowning.

“But if it was lost, how do we do that?” Jaune asked making her wings droop.

Still a freaking deity was lost? Wasn’t that a God or something close to one?

If Skull Kid took that down he must really be out of his mind to think he can win against the guy.

The Owl looked at them critically as he heard them talking. “You remind me of someone I knew so long ago only he wore green.” He said to Jaune making the blonde blink in confusion. “Or perhaps my tired eyes are playing tricks on me.”

With that he rotated his head making Jaune grimace as while it was upside down, it looked like the owl had a second face that seemed to peer in him.

Seeing that was unsettling the teen, the Owl rotate its head back to normal. “Hoo-hoot! Still the destiny you seek is not solely restricted to this Swamp Mister Arc.”

That surprised Jaune while Tatl was now more wary of this owl. “How do you know my name?”

“I know many things.” The Owl said being reminded of the young boy in green even more as he asked the same question. “If you have the courage and determination to proceed in the face of destiny, then I shall teach you something useful.”

“Something… Useful?” Jaune asked relaxing his stance a bit.

So far this Owl hasn’t acted hostile and while he was on edge about it knowing his name he didn’t think it would attack him.

Tatl looked between Jaune and the owl in confusion.

“The Stone Statue that bears a close resemblance to me,” The Owl explained making the two look closer at the statue. “I place those throughout the land to aid the one with the power to change destiny… Wherever he may appear. In order to use their power just play the song beneath my feet.”

“Song beneath your feet?” Tatl asked in confusion only to give a yelp. “H-He’s gone.”

Jaune spun around to see that the owl was definitely gone, not a single feather remained.

How did something so big just vanish like that?!

Still he looked where the owl was to indeed see some notes and pulled out his Ocarina, playing them. The melody that followed was a short and sweet one before he was suddenly in Clock Town in front of the first owl statue he saw.

“W-What just happened?! Tatl asked pure confusion on her face. “D-Did we go back in time again?!”

“No, it’s still bright out, if we did the sun would just be rising.” Jaune said unsure of what happened himself.

Looking at the Ocarina he swore he heard the Owl’s voice. “May the Soaring Wings take flight.”

“Soaring wings?” Jaune muttered before doing a test thinking of the owl statue in the Swamp as he replayed what he just learned and they were suddenly there. “A song that allows teleportation?!”

Shaking her head as the teleportation kind of threw her off, Tatl gave a nod. “That would be incredibly useful, especially if we find more of those statues.”

“Yeah they would.” Jaune said looking back to where they saw the Owl.

Just who was that?

* * *

“Welcome,” Jaune couldn’t help but stare at the huge behemoth of a man behind the counter as he entered the elevated house, who wore a brown vest that didn’t do anything to hide his physique, he also wore a hat of some sort with blue goggles on his face. “Wait is this your first time at the swamp?!”

“Y-Yes?” Jaune answered unsure what he was getting at.

The man looked a little apologetic. “Normally I would’ve let you take a free swamp tour but with how dangerous it’s been getting I’m not sure that would be a good idea, especially with all of the monsters becoming more dangerous as of late or those Deku Scrubs being hostile.”

“The Deku’s are being hostile?” Tatl asked in surprise, her appearance made the man look at her with a slight frown. “What?”

“It’s nothing, I have a son that’s obsessed with fairies,” The man said before answering her first question. “As for the Deku’s apparently something happened that made them cut off all communication with everyone, not sure what though.”

“That’s not good.” Tatl mused while Jaune looked thoughtful waving good-bye to the man as they left the shop. “The Deku Scrubs in the Swamp are usually pretty peaceful, the idea of them being hostile is bad.”

Jaune gave a nod just agreeing with her because he had no idea what else to do. “Perhaps but we need to find this temple which means we need to find them.”

“We don’t even know if finding this temple will work,” Tatl reminded him. “We’re just going by what we thought Tael was saying.”

“What else could it be?” Jaune asked praying she would have the answer but when she shook her head he sighed. “It’s the only idea we have.”

Seeing a path in the lake that wasn’t purple, Jaune felt that he was better off going that way, especially since he saw a few lily pads that were set up like a path.

Gaining an idea, Jaune took his Deku Mask out. “I think I know how the Deku’s get around.” He said with Tatl noticing him looking at the lily pads.

“Makes sense, they can’t swim yet they can traverse the swamp,” Tatl mused to him. “Those pads will sink if you go on them normally but as a Scrub you’re practically weightless.”

“Good to know.” Jaune placed the mask on his face and immediately wished he didn’t as he stumbled, grunting in pain as the soul inside of the mask began to interact with his own.

The contact of the two souls merging made Jaune scream in agony as the mask turned him back into a Deku Scrub with him hunched over panting.

“Jaune?” Tatl flew close to him. “You alright?”

“T-... Vat just happened?” Jaune asked remembering how he had to speak as a Scrub.

Shaking his head, Jaune decided to leave that question for later because they only had three more hours of sunlight left until the first day ended which meant they had to hurry.

With that in mind, Jaune began to hop towards the lily pads, Tatl taking cover in his hood.

* * *

It didn’t take long for him to reach a hut in a rather large tree in the shape of a giant kettle, the water looked extremely clear in comparison to the rest of the lake, a grotto being nearby as well.

Tilting his head in confusion, Jaune took the Deku Mask off expecting pain, but to his surprise there was none, leaving him to look at the mask in contemplation.

Why did he feel pain when he first put it on?

Putting it up, Jaune began to climb the ladder and saw this place was a ‘Magic Hags Potion shop’. Given it was a shop he didn’t feel too guilty about entering where he saw an elderly woman with white hair and a blue gem on her forehead dozing off a bit, but she jerked awake when he closed the door. “Welcome to Magic Hag’s Potion Shop, we’re open from Six in the Morning to Six at Night, how can I help you?”

“Just browsing,” Jaune answered looking at what she had. “So do you get a lot of business out here?”

“Tch used to,” The woman muttered in annoyance. “Ever since the Scrubs started their hatred on those monkeys I haven’t seen any business.”

‘ _ Monkeys? _ ’ Jaune thought not getting how that worked before noticing that the woman looked at the time in worry.

“Is something wrong?”

His question made the woman look at him in surprise. “It’s nothing, my Sister just hasn’t gotten back yet,” She said a hint of concern in her tone despite saying it wasn’t a problem. “Koume left this morning to head into the woods out back for some mushrooms but she hasn’t come back yet.”

“Is it dangerous out there?” Jaune asked in concern.

“Just as dangerous as anywhere else, Koume is tough.” The woman said, waving it off. “So you going to buy anything?”

“I can look for her if you want.”

That surprised the woman while Tatl shifted inside of his hoodie. “Jaune we don’t have the time for that-.”

“Well I can’t exactly stop you from doing that,” The woman said a bit hesitant. “Here.”

She handed him a bottle with red liquid in it.

“It’s a health potion, in case you find her and she needs it,” The woman said before frowning. “If she doesn’t and you find her tell that old hag that Kotake is annoyed with her.”

Jaune gave a nod, exiting the shop as he placed the bottle in his bag.

“Jaune we’re on a time limit here.” Tatl reminded him. “Are you seriously going to waste it finding someone?”

“How is it a waste?”

“Because when we rewind time she’ll just be out there again.”

On hearing that Jaune stopped the implications sinking in.

Right, just like that woman he helped after turning back to human would be robbed because he wasn’t there or at how the Skulltula would be back in the Clock Town Sewer because he hasn’t killed it yet and how the Great Fairy was in pieces because he hasn’t taken the Stray Fairy to the Fountain.

Sure on finding this Koume now she would be fine but on rewinding time she would be back in danger.

No matter what he does, he won’t be able to help everyone because they’ll just be in danger when he does go back.

“Still, we do need information on this place so perhaps this isn’t a bad thing.” Tatl said cutting into Jaune’s thoughts.

“R-Right.” Jaune said trying desperately to push that morbid thought to the back of his mind.

They had a lost sister to find.

** _To Be Continued… _ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully you liked the small fight scenes that Jaune has had so far as well as how he’s been taking to training with the time travel ability but now he realizes one of the bad things that comes with it in regards to helping others.
> 
> For example when he spoke to the Swordsman he actually got the man back to his feet on the third day to at least try but the time travel erased that moment as well.


	5. The Trials of Woodfall Part 1

The first thing Jaune and Tatl saw upon entering the woods were multiple paths showing that it would be pretty easy to get lost in there. “Well this is perfect, how are we going to find this Koume?” Tatl asked her wings fluttering while Jaune cupped his chin in thought.

“We’ll just have to look for her, at least we can use the Song of Soaring to get out.” Jaune offered getting her attention.

“That’s the one the Owl taught you right?” Tatl asked with Jaune giving a nod not bothered by how that sounded.

He was beginning to keep a bit of an open mind as of now-.

A white flash shot past Jaune making him reach for his sword only to calm down as he saw a white furred monkey that came up to his shins, it didn’t seem dangerous, so he just tilted his head at it before it did something he didn’t expect.

It spoke.

“Mmm… Follow me.” The monkey uttered as it took off with Jaune gaping before shaking it off.

If an Owl can speak, why not a monkey?

He quickly took off with the monkey not slowing down as it kept making some odd turns showing that the woods were quite the maze-.

“Look out!” Tatl warned making Jaune tense before seeing what she was warning him of.

Jaune nearly cursed at having to jump to the side barely getting out of the way of a spinning turtle which had sharp spikes on the edge of its shells-the monkey not stopping so he had no time to fight.

Thankfully the turtle didn’t chase him but there were a few more close calls with the other turtles.

Eventually they made it to a clearing where there were three more monkeys surrounding a woman that looked just like Kotake, Jaune presuming that this was Koume.

“Hey are you alright?” Jaune asked the still woman shaking her awake with the monkeys quickly running away.

The woman slowly pushed herself up and blearily looked at him. “Does it look like I’m alright?” She asked with slight annoyance. “I was just minding my own business, picking mushrooms when…  _ BAM! _ I got hit from behind.”

She then hissed in pain grabbing her arm that looked limp.

“That pesky Skull Kid,” Koume uttered making Jaune and Tatl’s eyes widen in shock. “Did he think that I wouldn’t recognize him if he hid his face? To think he’s that powerful and I can’t even move much.”

“Well would this help?” Jaune asked offering the red potion to Koume making her turn towards him in surprise. “Your sister gave this to me when I offered to look for you.”

It was snatched out of his hand making Jaune jump back as Koume downed the potion in one gulp, giving a sigh of relief as her arm mended before his eyes making him realize the potential this type of stuff could have.

He’ll have to see about keeping one on him at all times.

“That’s the stuff thanks kid, you really saved me,” Koume said gratefully handing him the empty bottle before making a flying broom appear out of nowhere. “I’ll stop by Kotame’s place first before I head back to the Swamp Tour Guide, if you want a tour of the Swamp just ask for me and I’ll hook you up on a free one straight to the Deku Palace.”

With that she took off flying with Jaune blinking at how that went.

“I guess this really wasn’t a waste of time,” Tatl said sounding impressed by how this all went. “We have a way to the Deku Palace now.”

Jaune just gave a wordless nod before he played the Song of Soaring to get out of there.

* * *

“Thanks for finding my sister.” Kotame said gratefully as Jaune had to make his way over there once again donning the Deku Mask to get across the water-a bit surprised that it wasn’t as painful as the first time using it.

“It’s no problem.” Jaune said with a smile as he went to hand the bottle back but Kotame shook her head.

“Nah you can keep it, those bottles are unbreakable so you might find a use for it-hang on here,” She filled it with a red potion once more. “Consider this one on the house if you want any in the future you’ll have to pay 20 rupees like anyone else.”

Jaune gave a nod placing it back in his gear bag. “I’ll keep that in mind.” He said happy to have this.

With that said he exited the shop only to jump as the monkey that lead him through the maze-like forest landed in front of him now looking up at him with a look of wonder.

“Uh can I help you?” Jaune asked a bit wary.

“You have strange powers, no?” The monkey asked as it saw how Jaune left the forest before seeing him change from a Deku Scrub a few moments ago. “Me been watching you.”

“Watch out Jaune you have another stalker.” Tatl said in amusement with Jaune rolling his eyes in good humor.

“Lately this Swamp filled with poison water… Temple above waterfall strange… Brother go to temple,” Needless to say the monkey had their full attention on the temple being mentioned. “But brother not able to find temple entrance. Temple for Deku only.”

“So where is your brother?” Jaune asked thinking that if this temple was for Deku only he just had to be told where it was and be lead there.

“Brother captured by Deku, now in palace.” The monkey looked saddened. “Help!”

With that the monkey took off with Jaune now rubbing the back of his neck. “If it’s not one thing it’s another,” Tatl remarked, her wings drooping for a split second. “We’ll have to find this brother of his.”

“Yeah, even if he couldn’t find the entrance, just knowing where the temple is at will be extremely helpful.” Jaune commented with Tatl giving a nod before looking up at the quickly darkening sky.

“Thankfully we still have a bit before sunset so let’s hurry over to the Tour Guide Center.” Tatl said with Jaune giving a grunt of agreement, taking the Ocarina out.

Between the Owl Statues in Clock Town and by the Swamp Tour Center they really cut down on the time needed for traveling.

* * *

Entering the Tourist Center, Jaune gave a small wave to the man who owned this place before making it to a window where Koume was waiting, the witch perking up at seeing him. “Oh it’s you, thanks again for the help earlier,” She said appreciation in her tone. “I suppose you want to take a cruise?”

Jaune gave a nod, not wanting to waste any time.

“Great, we’re also giving these out for free to celebrate the upcoming festival,” Koume placed a Pictograph Box on the counter of the window she was in. “In the future free tours will be decided by the best picture.”

Despite finding that odd, Jaune accepted the Pictograph out of politeness and placed it in his Gear Bag.

Who knows? He might use it to take a few pictures of Termina for the memories before he heads home. He couldn’t exactly take pictures with his scroll because he had to turn it off-turns out rewinding time does nothing to the battery life on it so it was almost dead.

“Just get down to the boat, it’s operated by magic so it’ll take you to the Deku Palace,” Koume explained to Jaune. “But remember that the Deku’s have been in a bit of an uproar, so be careful, alright?”

“I’ll be fine, thanks.” Jaune said with a smile.

“If you say so.” Koume said trusting him in that regard.

Moments later both Jaune and Tatl were on the boat that was holding up pretty well in the poisoned water, so with nothing better to do, Jaune just laid down to look up at the night sky.

“You know,” Jaune spoke up after a bit. “I’m getting pretty sick of seeing that moon.”

“You’re not the only one,” Tatl agreed sitting next to him. “But we’ll be seeing it a lot more regardless.”

Jaune gave a nod, silence growing around them.

“Hey Jaune?” Tatl looked up at the blonde after a few minutes.

“Yeah?”

“Once this is over do you plan on going back to Remnant?”

That question surprised Jaune as he was about to reply with an ‘of course’ but he paused.

Would he?

Sure a month ago-or however long he’s been stuck in Termina he would’ve said yes immediately because he has so much he needed to do.

Make it to Beacon, get in, make his family proud in becoming a Huntsmen.

… And possibly get a girlfriend with all of the confidence advice his dad taught him but he could worry about that last part later, especially when he would be able to do it without worrying about time resetting.

However, what he was doing here was the equivalent of being a Huntsmen only he was learning through experience. If through some miracle he does manage to beat Skull Kid he would be pretty strong by then given his training regime with rewinding time here.

Would he have to go to Beacon to become a Huntsmen? There was nothing against the rules about ‘ordinary’ people hunting the Grimm so perhaps he could do that instead when he gets back to Remnant.

Or perhaps… He could stay in Termina, after all while there are monsters here there weren’t any Grimm to worry about.

But wouldn’t that be selfish as his family would be worried sick for him?

“I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it.” Jaune finally answered after being silent for a bit, too many things to think about and he couldn’t afford to distract himself when they need to focus on their situation.

Their conversation stopped when the boat came to a halt at a pier outside of a wooden fortress with Jaune stepping off of the boat, seeing the fortress looking pretty ominous at night.

“So this is Deku Palace?”

“No, Deku Palace is further in, this is the checkpoint before the palace.” Tatl explained with Jaune nodding entering through the tunnel that the fortress had to see the real palace across the poisoned water with a wooden bridge going across it.

There were two Deku Guard guarding the entrance dutifully, they didn’t see Jaune because of how dark it was, with Tatl now hiding in the hood of his hoodie to keep her light from showing where they were.

“We should probably wait for morning to come before we go any further, with how late it is we would most likely have the Deku’s on edge.” Tatl suggested.

Jaune gave a nod. “Yeah we’ll need to get that monkey out while without making them uncomfortable.” He agreed as saving the monkey without having all of the Deku’s on edge would make it a lot easier.

Still where would they stay given how the boat was only free for one use-.

Jaune gave a start when he saw an Owl Statue and grinned.

Looks like it was back to Clock Town.

* * *

One use of the Song of Soaring after leaving the fortress and they were back in Clock Town, where Jaune found himself entering a place called the Milk Bar as he sat at a stool ordering some food.

“You want anything Tatl?” Jaune asked with the fairy declining.

“No offense but this place doesn’t serve fairy friendly food.” Tatl explained as Jaune did order a burger and a glass of milk.

That drew a curious look from Jaune. “Well what do you eat?”

Come to think of it, he hasn’t really seen her eat anything this last month, in fact this was the first time he’s been able to truly relax and think about it as he only spent the time training, eating snacks on the road and drinking water.

“Usually fruit or berries but we can also live off of magic,” Tatl sounded a bit sheepish. “These last few days I’ve kind of been living off the magic that the Great Fairy gave you.”

Jaune blinked processing that. “You’ve been eating my magic?”

It was kind of strange how nonchalant he was to the idea of Magic existing now, if they didn’t have so much to worry about he would’ve probably been overjoyed with the idea of using it.

… He should look into what he can do with his Magic once he has time, perhaps he could do more than what he’s shown so far.

“It’s not what you think, your magic can regenerate easily since the Great Fairy personally gave it to you, and I don’t take much,” Tatl elaborated in a bit of a panic at realizing how it sounded to him. “Especially not when we’re out there, only when we’re in the safety of town was when I did that.”

“Huh,” Jaune said not sure how he felt about that right when his milk was given to him. “Thanks.”

“Hey Jaune you might want to be careful of the milk here, wouldn’t want you to be intoxicated.” Tatl warned although the thought of that nearly made her laugh.

It got quiet as Jaune slowly processed that.

“Are you saying I can get drunk off milk here?” He asked slowly eyeing the glass carefully, not expecting that.

“The milk in Termina is produced with magic added so the effects are… Intoxicating to those who aren’t used to it, it’s as effective as your potion in being healed.” Tatl explained with Jaune taking a small sip.

Wow, he felt quite a flow of energy already.

“So don’t drink too much or the magic will go to my head.” Jaune summarized with Tatl giving a nod.

That was good to know.

“Still I’d say today was pretty productive,” Jaune said his burger arriving just now. “Learned a song that can teleport us and we’ll be entering the Deku Palace tomorrow to find the temple.”

“Yeah but it’s what’s inside of the temple that I’m worried about,” Tatl said earning a concerned look from Jaune. “The Great Fairy said there would be challenges in each one and then there’s the Guardian Deity.”

“Speaking of which, you know anything about these Guardian Deities?” Jaune asked curiously.

Knowing more about them would be a big help.

“They’re the four Giants of Termina who protect the lands, the Carnival of Time is celebrated in their honor,” Tatl explained with Jaune paying close attention to what was being said, hiding his surprise at the Guardian Deities being Giants. “Each one of them has their own land to protect.”

“Swamp. Mountain. Ocean. Desert.” Jaune summarized remembering exactly what Tael said during their first three days.

“Exactly,” Tatl made a ringing noise, seeing how the blonde got it. “Looking at it that way it makes sense that there’s a temple in each area in honor of them.”

“Interesting.” Jaune breathed in surprised, just thinking on this type of information he had, he was definitely going to write down what he had in the Bomber Notebook.

Perhaps he could find a book to learn more about it somewhere in Termina.

‘ _ Still Tatl’s right, _ ’ Jaune thought turning back to his food as Tatl went back to resting in his hoodie. ‘ _ I do need to be careful when we find get to this Temple, Skull Kid could’ve done anything to it. _ ’

Hopefully they were right considering they were banking everything on this idea, if they were wrong then he had no idea what they would do.

Still at least he’ll be able to rewind time, but how long could he do it before he snapped because doing this can’t be healthy. If he was alone he probably would’ve lost it by now being stuck in a self-inflicted Time Loop.

Jaune chuckled, gaining Tatl’s attention. “What is it?”

“Just compared our situation to a movie back home where a guy ended up reliving the same day over and over again,” Jaune elaborated earning an ‘oh’ from Tatl, even if she had no idea what a movie was. “Though in our case we’re willingly causing it.”

As he ate however, the bartender came up to Jaune. “I’m going to have to ask you to leave soon, around midnight this is a club members only bar.” He warned given how it was close to that time.

‘ _ Club members only? _ ’ Jaune thought in surprise before giving a nod as he hurriedly wolfed his food down.

Perhaps he could see how to become a member at a later date in case this place had some benefits he could use before rewinding time.

** _~Dawn of the Second Day~_ **

** _-48 Hours Remain-_ **

“Ugh, I miss sleeping on a bed.” Jaune muttered rubbing his back given how the hotel was full because of a reservation, so he had to sleep on a bench in the Laundry Pool, listening to that man who gave him the Bremen Mask playing his music box all night.

It would always be full while he’s here considering the time loop which didn’t make things any easier. Heck he’s surprised his back isn’t broken from all of the uncomfortable places he’s slept after a month’s worth of rewinding time.

Thunder boomed as Jaune sighed and pulled his hood up with Tatl in there to avoid getting wet. “So we good on the plan?” Tatl asked with Jaune smiling.

“Get in there, save the monkey, find the temple, free the Deity and then reset before doing the same in the Mountain.” Jaune summarized it all with a nod as he pulled out the Deku Mask. “Sounds simple enough.”

“Don’t get cocky.” Tatl warned him despite knowing that Jaune knew it was easier said than done.

Jaune chuckled as he placed the mask on his face, once he changed he took the Ocarina out, not too bothered as it turned into Deku Pipes.

He needed to get moving.

* * *

“This is the palace of the Deku Kingdom. Only those with official business may enter,” The Deku guard said as Jaune just stood there in front of the Palace really hoping he would find a ‘legal’ way in without having to resort to breaking in. “But you may enter to see the public humiliation of the foolish monkey who angered our king.”

Jaune had to work hard to keep a straight face finding that a bit messed up.

“Follow this hall straight to the Royal Chamber. Do not enter any other areas whatsoever!”

“Okay ve’re in.” Jaune muttered to himself once he passed the guards, feeling Tatl in his hood trying to peek out.

“Remember act natural, you’re a kid Deku that’s interested in what’s going on,” Tatl whispered as he found the Royal Chamber. “Don’t do anything to draw attention.”

Jaune didn’t answer as he saw quite the room in the Royal Chamber with countless Deku Scrubs conversing with each other while a rather large one was sitting at a throne, holding a staff.

There was a fire pit in the middle but to the side behind some bars, Jaune could see the Monkey tied to a pole, his feet kicking to the air.

Feeling some eyes on him, Jaune turned to see a lone Deku next to what had to be the King Deku staring at him in a mixture of curiosity and shock.

There was recognition in his eyes, heck Jaune felt an odd sensation as if he knew that particular scrub yet he couldn’t for the life of him remember.

Still he found the Monkey but no way to get to him.

‘ _ This will be tougher than I thought. _ ’ Jaune thought as the only way to get to the Monkey would be as a human and he couldn’t risk it because if they see him change or try to free the Monkey, that would set them all off.

“I haven’t seen your face before, are you visiting?” Jaune jumped as he realized that the King Deku was looking right at him now standing next to the disguised Deku, so he quickly nodded. “Usually I wouldn’t allow the likes of you in my Royal Chamber, but today is different.”

“It is?” Jaune asked tilting his head to the side, ignoring Tatl’s whisper to keep his head still to avoid her falling out.

“We’re about to punish the foolish Monkey who kidnapped the Deku Princess!” The King declared with Jaune tensing now realizing what was going on as this would explain why these Deku’s were in an uproar besides the obvious with the poisoned swamp. “He has insulted the Royal Family! I’ll show him what happens when you do that! Go ahead and take a look at his face.”

Taking that as his chance to get close to the monkey, Jaune saw it struggle a bit more. “Stop looking at me I didn’t kidnap your Princess!” The monkey protested tired of all of this. “No matter how many times they accuse me of it that won’t bring her back, if we don’t hurry the monster in the temple will kill her.”

‘ _ Monster? _ ’ Jaune thought in shock seeing that they really needed the information now more than ever.

As the King left to go back to his throne, Jaune turned back to the monkey. “Tell me everything you know.” He whispered with the Monkey looking at him in surprise.

“I already told you everything-.”

“No you told dem, I don’t know anything and I need all da information I can get if I vant to survive at temple.” Jaune retorted with the Monkey looking cautious.

“How do I know that you’re not just pretending?”

“Your brothers told me about your situation and had me come in to help.” Jaune said keeping his voice low and forcing himself to speak slowly to keep his pronunciation to avoid confusing the monkey.

While he was indeed getting better, he still needed to work on it.

After a few seconds, the monkey gave a nod while he stopped kicking his feet. “They did?” He asked not expecting that before shaking his head as he decided to trust his word and pray that he was telling the truth, lowering his voice to avoid the other Deku’s overhearing them. “No that’s not important, you need to save the Princess inside of the Temple, that’s the only way they’ll listen, if no one does she’ll die.”

“How do I get in dere?” Jaune asked needing that information.

“The Temple is across from the Deku Palace, but you need to use the Deku Flowers to get to the cavern that will take you to Woodfall Swamp where it’s at,” The Monkey explained quickly. “But you also need to know a song on the Deku Pipes, one that the Royal Family knows, the Sonata of Awakening.”

“It’s always something.” Tatl cursed with Jaune wincing.

“Luckily the Princess taught me the song, do you have a Deku Pipe?” The Monkey asked with Jaune perking up and nodding. “Listen closely.”

With that said he began to recite a series of notes, quietly to avoid more trouble with Jaune straining to hear them, giving a hum of his own in response to them.

After a few times the Monkey stopped as Jaune took a step back. “Fank you.” He said with the Monkey giving a nod.

“Hurry.”

Jaune quickly took off running eliciting odd stares from the Deku’s, but he didn’t care as Tatl sounded worried when she spoke. “You do have that memorized right?”

“Yeah I do,” Jaune would’ve grinned if he could. “Ven Dad taught me how to play music I managed to acquire quite da skill in learning notes, playing fer eight years can do dat.”

A lot of songs he could play from memory anyways.

But he’ll write down the notes in his Bombers Notebook to ensure that he won’t forget it.

* * *

Jaune sighed in relief as after an hour of searching, he managed to find the path to the waterfall, though it took quite a bit considering the Killer Dragonflies that were attacking him as a Deku.

He’s not kidding, these things were bigger then he was in Deku Form, but they were pretty frail so he just had to launch himself out of Deku Flowers to kill them.

His hoodie was thoroughly soaked though given how long he’s been in the rain so there was a chance he would get sick-wait would him being sick carry over when they start the three days over again?

That was actually an interesting thing to test out. If it doesn’t work then that’s great.

Entering an alcove that was close to the Deku Palace with it being in the waterfall across from it, Jaune found himself in Woodfall only to give a start at seeing no temple.

“What?!” Tatl flew out of his hood not caring about the rain at this moment. “But that Monkey said that the temple was here!”

Jaune just shrugged, not getting it either.

There was another sign that he checked with it saying that this was indeed Woodfall.

So where was the temple?

He could see quite a few wooden planks with Deku Flowers nearby, all leading up to some sort of wooden platform-he could see an Owl Statue in there as well with some trees across from the platform.

Narrowing his eyes, Jaune began to hop across the poisoned bog, catching Tatl by surprise as she flew after him. “Hey you see something?” She asked going back into the hood.

“I dink so.” Jaune got out, barely making it to the first stump where the plank led to a Flower. “Just let me get to dat Platform.”

Tatl kept quiet at hearing that, especially when Jaune found himself having to fire a snot bubble at some sort of bug-like creature that charged at him along with taking out some other Deku Scrubs.

These Scrubs were nothing like the ones he saw considering they were bright red with Tatl explaining how they were Mad Scrubs who lost all sense of self for some odd reason, so they were essentially empty husks who attacked others on sight.

So Jaune didn’t feel bad about taking them out, especially when it freed up their Deku Flowers to get to the Platform where he landed on a small podium with a Deku Scrub mark showing.

“After all that, still no temple,” Tatl muttered with Jaune’s shoulders drooping. “Don’t get me wrong you’ve made progress, but we need to find it.”

“But vere could it be?” Jaune went to ask only to pause as his head began to hurt.

For some odd reason he was seeing images of that lone Deku who stared at him back at the palace and from how he was seeing things he assumed that he was standing right next to the guy.

There was a slight show of affection with the guy rubbing Deku Jaune’s head as the temple could be seen right across from them with the tree’s that were currently across from him right above it.

Shaking his head to clear it, Jaune was wondering what that was before he remembered the song that the monkey taught him and he grinned pulling the Deku Pipes out.

That action confused Tatl before Jaune began to play the Sonata of Awakening.

At first nothing happened, but a loud rumbling sound cut off any sign of disappointment with Jaune barely keeping his balance with the very vibrant shaking that followed with the trees in the middle of the bog slowly rising revealing a stone temple that was hidden beneath it.

“How in the name of Termina did you figure that out?!” Tatl asked in awe, not expecting for that to happen.

Deciding not to say anything about the weird vision going through his head, Jaune brought up the other reason. “Da monkey said da song vas needed to get into da Temple, I just guessed dat it vas here and dat it needed to be played.”

But he looked back at the temple, feeling his limbs locking up a bit in slight fear.

This was it.

If they were right, in this temple was one of the ways to put a stop to Skull Kid’s crazy plans of genocide. If they were wrong than this was all for nothing and they were back at square one.

Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Jaune used the Deku Flower to fly towards the Temple, being sure to take the mask off as he walked in.

* * *

The creepiness factor of the Woodfall Temple went up as he entered with it being extremely dark, Tatl flying out of his hood once more to give him some light as he took it off, shivering from the cold given how wet his clothes were.

“Hey there’s a Stray Fairy!” Tatl called out, resulting in Jaune looking up to see a green fairy flying around but it hid at seeing him.

‘ _ Right the Great Fairy told us to find the shattered pieces at the temple, that proves this is the right temple. _ ’ Jaune thought happily, reaching into his Gear Bag to pull the Fairy Mask out to put on, noticing how the hair was now sparkling due to the fairy close by.

After a second the Stray Fairy slowly flew towards him, giving him some trust due to the mask he had on and much to Jaune’s surprise the mask absorbed the fairy.

‘ ** _Young one, look for the other fourteen fairies in this temple._ ** ’ A voice whispered before the mask’s power died down.

‘ _ Fourteen? _ ’ Jaune was amazed at how many stray fairies were loose in this place but he took the mask off to help him see only to pale at the dark shapes that were now in front of him with beady yellow eyes.

Reacting instantly, Jaune drew Crocea Mors and spun in a circle, releasing some magic that sliced through them quite easily. “The heck are these?!”

“Those are Black Boes, they usually hide in the shadows and attack in groups, but they’re very easy to put down if you have a good weapon,” Tatl got out with Jaune getting ready, now jumping at them. “You can fight them easily like this or as a Scrub with your spinning attack!”

He should probably train his Deku Form up in case he gets into a fight while turned into that, he’ll add that to the list for his training schedule after this temple was taken care of.

Jaune will admit he was happy with how easy it was to clear them out before he saw a few platforms ahead of him with Deku Flowers showing what he would need to do-was that a treasure chest?

He’ll admit to being excited at seeing one as while there was a huge end of the world scenario going on, it was a bit exciting to be exploring an ancient temple and seeing the treasures within. This was what was keeping his mind off of what would happen should they fail.

Taking his time to get over there, Jaune opened it only to be surprised when a second stray fairy shot out of there, being enveloped in the Fairy Mask that was in his bag.

“... Vell at least ve have to find thirteen more.” Jaune said after processing that. “But vhy are dere chests in here?”

“The Temples being sacred sometimes protect certain items, some of the chests can be seen and they have common stuff like rupees, but others are revealed after certain events like a map of this Dungeon.” Tatl took the explanation as the Temples were well known despite being hidden, with Jaune crossing his arms in thought. “But the map itself is useless without a compass that you would find in a different chest.”

Jaune had so many questions about that, but decided to just roll with it.

They barely had two days and he needed to find the Deku Princess, the rest of the Stray Fairies and the one that Tael spoke of to help him stop Skull Kid.

He’ll question this when he has the time.

Taking the time to shoot snot bubbles at the Skulltulas hanging above the nearby door to knock them away, Jaune entered the next room to find himself staring at a podium in the middle of the acid water with four strange plants floating in said water, he was currently in an upper floor of the room with a ramp leading down but no way to the door on the other side of the upper part of this floor.

“Watch it, those are Carnivorous Lily Pads!”

“C-C-Carnivorous?!” Jaune squeaked out in slight fear.

“Yeah but as long as you’re a Deku you’re fine, you’re wood not meat and your current body weight won’t set them off, if you were human however.” Tatl let that die down for Jaune to get the idea.

“R-Right.” Jaune muttered, taking the ramp to go down.

The room didn’t really hold a lot of secrets except for a Deku Baba that Jaune spun around to kill-deciding to stay in Deku Form for the time being and to his surprise a third Stray Fairy popped out of the dead enemy leaving him confused along with some sort of stick that Tatl said he should keep with him.

It seemed that he shouldn’t leave anything in a room untouched when searching for fairies. That was how he found a fourth one in a pile of pots that were across the acid lake near another door.

From there on he went through a different room using the lone Deku Flower to get to yet another room only for bars to slide down the door preventing him from leaving as he saw three turtles not unlike the ones from the forest now spinning towards him.

Giving a shout, Jaune jumped out of the way only to get hit by the third turtle after dodging the first two the force of it sending him across the room.

“Vhat are dese dings?!” Jaune shouted his words getting a bit more jumbled in his panic.

“Snapper Turtles!” Tatl had to fly high to avoid getting hit by them. “The way these things move they never expose the weak parts of their bodies!”

Filing that in his mind as Jaune pushed himself up, he guessed it was the stomach given how it was a turtle.

Great, how was he supposed-there was a Deku Flower in this room.

Gaining an idea, Jaune ran hearing the three spinning after him before he dived into the flower, waiting until they spun above to shoot out, the spike coming out of his head obliterating the three of them.

‘ _ Huh not so tough when I have a plan. _ ’ Jaune thought a bit cockily.

Sure getting cocky was a bad thing but given how a month ago when he was trapped in this form he couldn’t even protect himself against a freaking dog he felt he was a bit justified in feeling that way after taking on three Snappers who could easily tear him to pieces.

Thankfully the bars on the door receded but Jaune stopped from leaving when he saw a swirl of lights in the middle of the room that turned into a rather big chest.

Initially confused, Jaune figured this was what Tatl meant when completing certain events makes a chest appears. It seemed that this certain event was clearing the room of monsters.

So he opened it, having to struggle before jumping in to find a map.

“That will make getting through here much easier.” Tatl said with a sigh while Jaune looked it over to see that this Dungeon had two floors with multiple rooms on each before he saw something interesting. “If we can find the Compass we’ll know exactly where to go.”

“Da fairies ve found are on here.” Jaune pointed out with Tatl stopping to check. “How is dat possible?”

Tatl flew around the map slowly to look over it. “Don’t know, you think it has something to do with how the Great Fairy remembered us after time restarted?”

Jaune didn’t answer that as it was the same way the Bombers Notebook seemed to work with it automatically recording certain events whenever he played the Song of Time… Then again he was in a world where magic was common knowledge and he was stuck in a time loop where a kid with an ancient mask was making the moon that had a face fall, so why was he questioning this of all things?

Shaking his head, Jaune exited the room to have a good view of a chest that he missed with it being across the poisoned water, a good enough distance to use the Deku Flower in the middle to get to.

Thinking it was another Stray Fairy, Jaune hopped across the water and used the Deku Flower to get to it only to be surprised when he found a silver key instead.

* * *

It went on for awhile with Jaune backtracking and finding a locked door that he used the key on, ending up in yet another room with a stone block that he had to turn back to normal to move, he could see a Stray Fairy in the poisoned water beneath the bridge being protected by a bubble as it stayed there.

But he had no way to get it out without risking the water hurting it or drowning the fairy so he continued on hoping to find a way to get it out and managed to get another one after killing the Skulltula that nearly knocked him into the water.

“I’m really starting to hate these things.” Jaune muttered to himself in annoyance, sheathing his sword.

“You? They eat fairies!” Tatl remarked, staying in his hood to avoid being eaten in case there were more. “At least you can fight them.”

Jaune chuckled, looking around the room to see a door with bars on it and a torch that was unlit near it while he was standing next to a lit torch.

While confused, Jaune figured that perhaps he should light the unlit torch to have some light over there, perhaps he’ll be able to find a switch to get rid of those bars?

Looking from the lit torch to the other one, Jaune wondered how he would do that without burning himself before his eyes lit up.

That stick that Tatl suggested he keep with him, what did she call it a Deku Stick?

That didn’t matter, he pulled it out of his bag and lit the end before he ran across the bridge, now wanting to burn himself given how the whole thing was made of wood.

Much to his surprise the bars actually receded when he lit the torch showing that was the key to opening it before he shook the stick to snuff out the flame with it being an inch shorter now.

“Nice thinking, we should probably keep as many Deku Sticks with us as we can in case there are more.” Tatl suggested while Jaune entered the room only to have a repeat of when he entered the room with the snappers, only it was two Dragonflies.

“Huh I was kind of worried for a second.” Jaune commented pulling his sword out with a grin and he easily took them down after luring them towards him and like last time a chest appeared.

It was a little funny how much easier it was to open this chest compared to the one when he was a Scrub before he found a blue compass that was now glowing along with the map that he had in his bag.

So pulling the map out, Jaune was surprised with the compass literally merging with the map and he could see other chests showing on the map along with his current location showing that somehow this map was a freaking GPS.

Now he could see what Tatl meant about having a map and compass being useful because this was just awesome.

Though there seemed to be a skull on the map near the furthest end of the room, but Jaune had no idea what that was.

Putting it up, Jaune went back to the room only to see a green glow above him and looked up to see two floating platforms with beehives on them, he could scarcely see a green glow emanating from one of them.

Guessing that was a Stray Fairy, Jaune pulled out the Deku Mask while also noting some stairs to the side leading up towards the platforms so after he gets this Fairy he’ll head up to see where that led to. Hopefully he’ll find something that would help him get the bubble fairy in the poison water.

There had to be a way to get that one.

One use of Snot Bubble later, Jaune moved up the stairs to see another unlit torch and the way forward past the two podiums blocked off by webs.

Tilting his head a bit, Jaune slammed a fist into the palm of his hand with an idea forming in his head, pulling out the Deku Stick and rushing down towards the torch he lit earlier-were those moths circling the flames?

Where did they come fro-that wasn’t important right now.

Ignoring that, Jaune lit the stick only to be surprised when the moths began to actually attack and bite at him.

Giving a yelp as he waved the lit stick around, Jaune ran back up the stairs with the moths chasing him, lighting the torch up there before hurling the extremely short Deku Stick into the webs, burning them.

Now that he no longer had the flame, the moths left him alone.

“You could’ve warned me.” Jaune muttered as those moths actually drew blood with the bite marks on his face and hands.

Tatl flew out to give him a look, her body ringing with indignation. “I had no idea that would happen!” She protested as while she knew a lot about large monsters she didn’t know that moths would act like that.

Jaune gave a start before sighing, placing his left hand on his head to ruffle his hair before leaning against the wall to slide down. “Sorry.” He muttered feeling slightly guilty for snapping like that.

It wasn’t fair to put the blame on Tatl for this one… It was his own fault.

“Tatl, when we rewind time again can you show me the best place to gain information on Termina?” Jaune asked looking at her.

It was something he should’ve done while he was training, yet he put it off to just focus purely on his swordsmanship and while that was definitely improving he can’t expect to survive everything that he’ll need to go through to bring Skull Kid down on that alone.

And he can’t risk just having Tatl know everything given how easily one of them could die.

Tatl looked visibly surprised by the request, Jaune chuckled at how he was beginning to read her moods depending on how bright her light was, or how she flew.

“Yeah, you do need to know about Termina.” Tatl agreed chiding herself for not thinking about that.

They covered each other pretty well with Tatl having the information about stuff while Jaune could fight, but should she go down while Jaune was clueless about most of the monsters in Termina then he would be in big danger.

Jaune sighed before he stood back up with a determined look at where the spider webs used to be. “You ready to go partner?”

That question made Tatl fly up in surprise.

Truth be told, she was thinking they should probably rewind time now and do that before coming back, but she saw the determination that Jaune was showing and understood.

If they turn back now, they will never stop Skull Kid.

“Let’s do this.” Tatl agreed with Jaune grinning before they jumped to the platforms to enter the next room.

** _To Be Continued…_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jaune is finally in his first temple and he seems to be doing alright, I took out the whole sneaking through the palace with the beans thing because while Link was good at that Jaune definitely isn’t, nor would he think about that the way he is now.
> 
> And I’m also taking some liberties of changing some things up in the story such as Jaune deciding to get to know more about Termina after this as after a whole month of being there all he did was work on Swordsmanship instead of studying where he was at.
> 
> … That was my fault because I didn’t think to add something like that in there.
> 
> I’m also hoping to change some stuff up with how he would use magic-I’m not talking some OP Doctor Strange magic, but stuff that Link was able to do in other games. Like in the Adventures of Link how Link was able to use Magic to increase his defensive abilities, to jump twice as high, the Life spell to heal, ect. And possible the medallions in A Link to the Past or something close to them.
> 
> I mean he has Magic so why wouldn’t he try to learn more about it?
> 
> But I wouldn’t mind possibly adding something that Leon in Kingdom Hearts did with using Magic to enhance his sword to make it longer.


	6. The Trials of Woodfall Part 2

Jaune tensed as they came into an extremely dark room when Tatl spoke up. “Be careful… I sense a lot of evil here.”

That did nothing to calm Jaune down until he saw that they were Black Boes and this long hallway was filled to the brim with them.

Thinking quickly, Jaune put on the Deku Mask and began to spin like crazy as they swarmed him. Though he was definitely getting very dizzy from how much he was spinning, he was easily tearing through them like paper by doing this.

Tatl had to fly out to avoid being sick, sticking to the ceiling as she kept an eye out for anything that could harm them. “Keep doing that, you’re thinning them out!” She called out before noticing something at the end of the hallway. “There are four torches, one of them is lit and a barred door down there.”

“Good fing ve got some Deku Sticks.” Jaune called out his voice slurring due to how dizzy he was getting until he was stumbling once Tatl told him that he got them all. “Somebody pwease stop da room from spinning.”

With that said he fell on his butt, unable to keep his balance.

“Yeah we’re definitely going to have to train up your Deku Form, it might be young but it’s come in handy in this temple.” Tatl remarked with Jaune giving a shaky nod.

A light caught their attention as a chest appeared in the middle of the room so Jaune shakily got up, stumbling before he placed a hand on the wall to keep his balance.

“Forgot vat motion sickness felt like.” Jaune muttered given it’s been awhile.

Weird that it didn’t happen when he was flying, then again he was spinning like crazy so it was to be expected.

With a sigh, Jaune took the mask off and drew a deep breath before he walked down the hall to the chest, opening it to find yet another Stray Fairy. “Man I’m finding these guys a lot easier then when we tried to find the one in Clock Town.” Jaune remarked, surprise showing in his tone.

“So Seven down, eight more to go.” Tatl quickly thought back to the ones they already found.

“Exactly… What do you think the Great Fairy of Woodfall will do once we put her back together?” Jaune couldn’t help but ask given how the last one gave him magic.

“You’re asking the wrong fairy.” Tatl’s answer made Jaune hang his head a bit before he began to light the torches, happy to have the room light up and the door now unlocked.

Entering it, Jaune saw two moving platforms with deku flowers along with Dragonflies flying around them.

Looking down below he could see three rather large bottomless holes showing that he should really be careful before seeing another fairy in a bubble in the bottom corner of the room.

So Jaune just walked down the stairs, avoiding the pits to get it, he didn’t waste too much time afterwards to get across the room as a Deku Scrub, though there were a few close calls with nearly missing the platforms, especially with the Dragonflies trying to kill him in the air.

With a sigh, once more switching back to Human, Jaune was surprised to find himself in the room with the four Carnivorous Lily Pads, just at a higher level.

Tilting his head a bit, Jaune peeked down to see the poisonous water before accidentally stepping on a switch he didn’t see.

He tensed, waiting for something like a boulder to come crashing down like from those movies or arrows to shoot from the walls but to his surprise he just saw a ladder appear, connecting the two floors, creating a shortcut of all things.

“That’ll make things easier if we were to fall.” Tatl commented while Jaune snorted. “What?”

“If we fall, we would end up being burned alive.” He dryly pointed out given how the acid water was the only thing to land in besides the lily pads and he had no desire to be eaten or burned.

Seeing a nearby door, Jaune entered it to find himself in the same room with the lone Deku Flower in the middle of the water leading to the door where he gained the Map, but he was once more on an upper floor where he could see a door nearby.

So he went to move only to barely catch a green glow and turned to see a nearby beehive.

Chuckling and one transformation later, Jaune got the ninth fairy.

Staying in Deku Form, Jaune entered the next room to have the door lock behind him. ‘ _ So what monster am I slaying this time-? _ ’ Jaune thought only to freeze in pure terror when a bipedal lizard wearing armor and wielding a sword that looked more like a meat cleaver landed in the middle of the room.

The reason he paled however was when it breathed freaking fire and he panicked, moving to get the mask off of him as quickly as possible. He had no desire to fight that thing when he was made of wood, thank you very much!

The lizard didn’t wait as it launched at him, so Jaune had to dive out of the way, doing a dodge roll, coming to his feet while unsheathing Crocea Mors in the process before it turned to look at him with its tail swishing.

Okay so this will be his first true test with his sword given how this thing had a sword of its own.

Tensing, Jaune cursed as the lizard kept jumping around, swinging its sword with him barely blocking it before it spun around hitting him with its tail to send him flying back.

“Tatl!” Jaune called out with the fairy getting what he wanted.

“That’s a Dinolfos! Keep your shield up and watch its movements, it likes to get behind you and swing, when it breathes in however get out of range of its fire attack!” Tatl explained rapidly with the Dinofols actually managing to cut into Jaune with its sword.

Luckily he jumped back so it was a cut rather than a gash, but it still hurt because Jaune has never been hit like that before. He pushed through it however thinking that the hit from the Dodongo was much worse.

It was too small and definitely smarter so he couldn’t trick it to eat a bomb.

Reaching into his gear bag, Jaune pulled out some Deku Nuts and threw one making the Dinolfos cry out as it was now blind and swinging wildly showing that it was still just as dangerous.

Waiting for the right moment, Jaune dove in there with a spin attack, adding some magic as he hit the Dinolfos but it jumped back despite the rather deep cut and shot fire at Jaune who had no time to dodge, so he threw up his shield to block it, trying to ignore the intense heat flickering past the shield before he ran forward, nailing the Dinolfos with the shield in the chest to make it stumble.

Taking advantage of the stumble, Jaune swung his sword, cutting right through the neck, decapitating the Dinolfos as it burned up in flames with Jaune panting like crazy.

The fight and the heat made him sweaty and he had a cut across his shoulder that was bleeding along with a bruised stomach.

If he came in here without any training he would’ve been dead within seconds.

“Nice job Jaune!” Tatl said happy to see that the blonde swordsman won the fight.

Jaune gave a nod, sheathing his weapon as he thought about using the red potion but decided to save it for when he really needed it. He did however take his hoodie off to try and cool off, wearing nothing but a plain shirt.

He heard the doors unlock but Jaune waited as a chest appeared, no longer surprised by this. Jaune was however wondering what would be in this one given how he had the map and compass, so he had no idea what else there could be… Perhaps the next fairy was in there.

So he approached and opened the chest only to blink in surprise.

There was a bow and a quiver of arrows laying in there that he grabbed in confusion.

A Bow and Arrow? Okay looking back, Jaune realized he hasn’t seen a gun since coming to Termina so it does make sense but isn’t this a bit old school?

Then again he fights with a sword and shield, in a way this would give him a ranged attack if it wasn’t for the fact that he had no idea how to use a bow properly.

“Wait I’ve seen this in a book before, it’s the Hero’s Bow!” Tatl flew in to examine it. “It’s an ancient weapon that helped save Termina once.”

“Hero’s Bow?” Jaune whispered in awe at the name considering that was what he wanted to be.

Feeling a bit giddy, Jaune grabbed an arrow from the quiver and notched it on the string of the bow even though he was most likely doing it wrong but Tatl quickly flew out of the way not wanting to be in the line of fire as Jaune aimed at a nearby pillar hoping to use it as a target.

What he wasn’t expecting was for the bow string to slap the flesh on the inside of his arm, making him yelp while the arrow flew past the pillar, hitting the wall.

He didn’t care right now as he was now holding his arm that had a red welt on it.

“Yeah you should try to keep your arms covered if you want to use it,” Tatl was trying very hard not to laugh while Jaune glared from the bow to the fairy showing that she wasn’t doing a good job at not laughing. “But a bow is really handy, keeps you from being limited to close range and you don’t have to shoot snot bubbles, we’re going to be training you up on using it later.”

Grumbling to himself, Jaune agreed and grabbed the quiver to clasp onto his back before placing the bow in the gear bag.

Though he was annoyed at his self-inflicted injury, Jaune didn’t let that keep him down considering he had a new weapon that he’ll definitely be working hard to master.

Still he sat down to catch his breath given how he’s been doing nothing but running around this temple nonstop, he doesn’t know how long he’s been inside for all he knew it could be night time.

He knew at least that it was still the second day, otherwise he would’ve felt the ground shaking.

After resting for a few minutes, Jaune pulled the map out to see that there were only a few rooms to explore in this temple showing that he was almost done with it. And he had about half of the fairies so he was hoping to find the Deku Princess soon.

Who knows, perhaps he already defeated the monster the Monkey warned him about considering how tough that Dinolfos was. If anything is listening, please let that be the toughest.

Huh, there was a room right across from the exit that has a chest, he’ll have to look into that.

And he should probably get going, he rested long enough.

So Jaune stood back up, placing the hoodie back on while noting how quiet Tatl was being. “You alright?” He asked, seeing her flying around the room in a way that seemed like a person pacing.

“Huh? Oh yeah I’m fine,” Tatl said unconvincingly with Jaune arching a brow. “I really don’t want to talk about it.”

Seeing how she wouldn’t budge, Jaune gave a nod.

He shouldn’t pry, especially considering where they were.

‘ _ She hasn’t done that in awhile. _ ’ Jaune thought with Tatl going back in his hood, she deemed that her safe place while in this temple considering the Skulltulas.

It was something that Tatl has been doing since their first cycle of three days.

Since Tael’s death.

In all their time training they never did confirm if going back did bring Tael back to life and he could see that not knowing was really beginning to grate on Tatl even though she tried her best to hide it.

* * *

“So I have to shoot the eye?” Jaune asked to make sure as they were back in the other room where Tatl pointed out a use for the Hero’s Bow with the gold diamond shaped relic across the room with an eye on it.

“It’s a switch for the temple, it’s also good practice for you right now.” Tatl elaborated with Jaune rolling his eyes at the small slight at him because of what he just did.

“Yeah, yeah.” Jaune muttered happy to have his hoodie on to protect his arms from the bowstring before he notched an arrow, shakily holding it up as he did struggle a bit to pull it back.

He really needed to get this down.

Firing an arrow, Jaune grimaced as he missed the eye-he didn’t even come close to it.

But he wasn’t one to give up and after ten attempts he finally hit it.

Much to his surprise the Deku Flower in the middle of the water below began to go up and back down, much like an elevator and he realized what it was for.

So once more he transformed with the mask and hopped across the water when the platform came down, barely getting on it when it began to go up. Once at a high enough height he used the Deku Flower to fly across and enter the room only for it to lock behind him.

“Again?!” Jaune shouted in shock, pulling the mask off.

He wasn’t expecting that again so soon.

Looking around for his opponent, Jaune was caught off guard when he saw a tall orange frog-like creature that began hopping around, glaring at him.

“That’s a Gekko. And it’s pretty angry!” Tatl quickly cut in before the fight could start. “But they’re pretty weak, as long as you keep your guard up this will be easy.”

Jaune gave a nod, unsheathing his sword once more.

This thing was tricky, but it wasn’t as dangerous as the Dinolfos considering he didn’t have to worry about a sword. Not that he didn’t keep his guard up whenever it got too close as it seemed to be one to throw punches.

Block and slash. Block and slash.

He could tell that this Gekko was getting very annoyed at how Jaune was countering him before it had enough and gave a cry with a Snapper blasting out of the water.

Caught off guard, Jaune jumped back with the Snapper barely missing him, the Gekko now getting on its back actually steering the monster towards the blonde. ‘ _ Oh great this just got complicated. _ ’

They weren’t giving him much room to think with Jaune jumping and rolling out of the way, not trusting that he could block the Snapper with his shield without serious injury. But he knew he had to get rid of the Snapper before he could focus on the Gekko given how it was only a threat with the two together.

Eyes scanning the room as he jumped to the side, dodging yet again his eyes fell upon a Deku Flower.

While he would’ve called that a lucky break, Jaune knew it was because this temple was worshipped by the Deku that the flowers were always there.

So he threw a Deku Nut to momentarily blind the Gekko before rushing towards the Flower, sliding as he put his mask on to dive in right as the Snapper who quickly gave chase, popping out to knock both of them off the ground, blowing a snot bubble at Gekko to stun it before spinning with his head spike killing the Snapper.

Landing on his feet, Jaune took the Deku Mask off before he saw the Gekko recover from the snot attack and began to climb the wall towards the Ceiling.

Great, if he could actually shoot the Hero’s Bow that would be no problem. But he couldn’t do that and the Ceiling was too high for the snot bubble to reach without bursting.

Unsheathing Crocea Mors, Jaune kept the shield put up and reached behind him right as the Gekko lunged, thinking he was an easy hit without the shield, not hearing the hissing that erupted behind Jaune who counted to two before he threw a bomb at the surprised Gekko’s face, the explosion stunning it long enough for Jaune to rush in and slice across his chest, finishing the fight.

Much to his surprise however, instead of burning to ashes, the Gekko turned into a frog that just croaked and hopped around the room. Initially bewildered by the sight, Jaune brushed it off when the door unlocked showing that the fight was over but he turned his attention to the other side of the room where he could see a barred wall with a door, there was a fancy gold and royal blue chest inside with a red jewel showing on the front.

Considering how different the chest looked from the other ones, Jaune figured it had to be important so he entered the small room to open it only to find a key.

Unlike the silver key however he saw that it was a solid gold key with a red skull shaped jewel in the handle.

Looking it over, Jaune remembered the skull shape on the map and wondered if this key had something to do with that shape before placing said key inside of his Gear Bag.

Tatl who was silent spoke up. “I have to say Jaune you really showed some creativity in that fight.” She commented with how Jaune switched tactics on the fly.

He never did that before with any of his fights.

Jaune gave a low chuckle, showing some exhaustion. “Just remembered something the Swordsman told me,” He said thinking back to the man who taught him how to fight. “I need to know where and when to strike, in other words what I do and how I move would make all the difference.”

And throughout all of those other fights he never needed to switch between his different weapons like that. If nothing else this was showing him how far he truly had to go if he ever wanted to survive Termina.

* * *

After a bit they were back in the main chamber as Jaune frowned at seeing an unlit torch in the middle of a wooden flower that was out of his reach before seeing a lit torch in a strange position.

Looking between the two, Jaune remembered the eye switch and grimaced.

He’ll have to use the Hero’s Bow won’t he?

Resigning himself to that, Jaune got ready while Tatl kept an eye out for any surprise attacks and aimed, having some trouble lining the shot up given how he was looking through the flames before shooting the arrow.

It missed and hit one of the carnivorous flowers making it burn up hissing as Jaune winced.

“Well at least it was a monster you hit.” Tatl commented, looking on the bright side of this.

Jaune frowned as he tried again and hit the wall past the wooden flower.

Okay this was starting to get annoying.

With a look of impatience, Jaune shot a few more tries before Tatl intervened. “Jaune you need to stay calm, remember you haven’t used a bow before, no one’s expecting you to be a marksman with it.” She chided him while Jaune winced at the reminder.

“I-I know but what if I need to be good with this to find and release the one that Tael spoke of?” Jaune asked, not meaning to bring him up with how quiet Tatl got before he continued. “I don’t want to restart the clock and have to do this all again.”

Seeing as how Tatl was being quiet, Jaune looked her way before realizing why.

“Sorry I didn’t mean to bring-.”

“It’s fine,” Tatl interrupted though there wasn’t any heat in her tone. “But if we have to we will restart the cycle.”

Looking down, Jaune tried once more and took a deep breath as he focused.

The Hero’s Bow still felt awkward to hold but he ignored it and tried to line it up, aiming a little higher due to how his last few attempts fell short.

Breathe in… Breathe out.

Eventually Jaune let the arrow fly and this time he actually managed to hit the target with the torch on the wooden flower lighting up.

He was expecting for a door to unlock or show itself, what he wasn’t expecting was for the wooden flower to unfold and rise up, spinning around.

What surprised him even further was the acid water actually clearing up, becoming a clear blue, the smell of the poison slowly disappearing along with the Carnivorous Plants dying.

Did he just-?

“Jaune I think you just purified the water.” Tatl said just as surprised as he was.

Deciding to test that, Jaune pulled out a deku stick and dropped it in the water, it floated there without dissolving.

Perhaps magic had a role in how quickly it was purified but he smiled.

He solved one of the swamps major problems if this extended towards it, or perhaps it was just another part of the temple?

His smile however disappeared when he saw another unlit torch in the corner and it was blocked off to where he wouldn’t be able to use this torch to light it. The only torch left available was the one on the spinning platform.

Oh son of a-.

* * *

It took forever for Jaune to get that one lit as he was almost out of arrows, but it unlocked the other door that Jaune was trying to get showing how it was worth it.

He did find two more stray fairies in this room as well, one in a bubble while the other one he found by stepping on a switch that made a chest appear.

Checking the map he had, Jaune saw that this was the last room before that skull emblem showing that he was almost done exploring this temple and he couldn’t help but smile.

This would definitely make for one hell of a story to tell his family should he make it back, though he would take out the whole end of the world and reliving three days part, just add in exploring an ancient temple.

That was something none of his sisters did.

The last room was rather big with plenty of Deku Flowers around and he looked at the wall behind him to see various alcoves showing how he was supposed to climb up. He’ll deal with the Dragonflies flying around when he goes up-.

Looking at the alcoves he could see three green glows, two on the left alcoves while one on the right one and looked around the room to see a fourth fairy in a bubble surrounded by flames. The last four were in this room. That was a relief considering he didn’t need to retrace his steps to look for the rest now.

He could even see a rather large door with a golden lock on the other side of the room showing what that key he found was for.

‘ _ I wonder what’s in that room. _ ’ Jaune thought curiously.

Perhaps the one he needed to find was in there along with the Deku Princess.

Unless she was in this room, Jaune didn’t see or hear any signs of the Deku Princess in all of the other rooms.

Keeping an eye on the Dragonflies, Jaune easily got the three fairies in the alcoves considering each one of the alcoves had its own Deku Flower, allowing for easy movement, but he was truly stump as to how to get the last stray fairy without burning it.

“Maybe there’s a switch to get rid of the flames?” Tatl offered with Jaune agreeing with that line of thinking after seeing everything else in this temple.

He’ll have to find a way to pop the bubble too after getting rid of the flames… Hopefully he’ll be close enough that the Snot Bubble will hit it so he wouldn’t have to rely on his arrows.

Mostly because he didn’t want to accidentally skewer the Stray Fairy with an arrow.

It took some looking around, but eventually Jaune managed to find a silver relic looking item that was pretty high up and used a snot bubble to hit it, making the flames disappear.

Giving a cheer, Jaune shot a snot bubble at the fairy to release it, already swapping the Deku Mask for the Great Fairy Mask to have the fairy fly towards him-what was making that ticking noise?

As the last fairy was absorbed inside of the mask, Jaune jumped when there was a loud noise and the flames appeared once more.

… So the switch had a time limit?

Good to know, especially since there was another podium with flames on it that held a Deku Flower. Taking the time to think about this, Jaune gave a nod, putting the Deku Mask back on and hitting the switch before quickly rushing to a Deku Flower to get over there and immediately diving into this certain flower.

He made it through the skin of his teeth as he shot out of the flower right as the time ran out and flames appeared.

Any later and he would’ve been burned to death.

Giving a sigh, Jaune landed in front of the locked door, taking the Deku Mask back off. “Man that was way too close.” He commented, putting it up. “So Tatl any thoughts about what’s in here?”

“I have no clue, this is the first time I’ve been to any of the temples.” Tatl explained with Jaune giving a nod, accepting that answer. “But still it’s the only way to go right now.”

With that said and done, Jaune pulled out the gold key and put it in the lock, the lock falling to the ground with a rather large thud before the stone door opened up with Jaune walking in.

Jaune found himself in a rather large, round room with no way in or out but the door he came in which slammed shut behind him… No bars covered the door and nothing attacked him, so Jaune wasn’t sure what to expect.

Looking around the room he saw that it had quite the ornate design with crude tribal drawings on the walls showing various Deku’s along with four rather tall creatures that he would assume to be the Giants.

There seemed to be various plants around the rooms that looked suspiciously like bombs with a lone golden Deku Flower in the middle.

Looking up, in case an attack came from above, Jaune swallowed as the ceiling was pitch black, he couldn’t even see it, showing how big the room really was.

That was very unsettling.

The silence was heavy between both Jaune and Tatl, they knew why.

It was quiet… Too quiet.

Even without monsters in the other rooms they could hear the movement of water and crackling of flames, even some small patches of grass rustling.

Here the only thing he could hear was his pounding heart.

Hesitaintly, Jaune took a few steps forward, his footsteps echoing in the room giving it a more eerie feeling, unfolding the sheath of his sword into a shield, but leaving the sword in it for the moment before the silence was shattered by what sounded like a steady drumbeat.

His head snapping side to side, Jaune gripped the hilt of his sword, pulling it out of his shield, ready for a fight before he heard a whooshing sound and barely had time to look up when a giant of a figure landed on the Deku Flower, flattening it.

Jaune was terrified because this figure was at least twenty feet tall with green skin, tribal war paint all over his body, he wore a mask that had the same style war paint on it, an open mouth giving it the image of a person growling, adding to the terrifying image with three ribbons standing erect on its head.

It even had its own sword and shield that made Jaune’s look like a mini toothpick with the sword being longer than twelve feet.

This figure slashed the sword toward Jaune, not attacking him but to intimidate him and it worked as even though it was nowhere close to Jaune, he could feel the breeze of the attack.

It was taking Jaune every ounce of willpower to not piss himself right now.

“N-No way that’s Odolwa the Masked Jungle Warrior,” Tatl breathed in shock, shaking behind Jaune showing how serious this was. “He’s an ancient monster that nearly destroyed the Swamp many centuries ago, he was defeated by one of the four Guardian Deities.”

Jaune’s throat felt dry as he swallowed the lump that formed upon hearing that.

T-This was the monster that the monkey spoke of.

If he even gets hit once by that sword it’s over.

Odolwa lunged at Jaune who threw his shield up, too scared to jump out of the way.

Sparks flew as the shield blocked the sword, the sheer force that Odolwa was showing nearly knocked Jaune off of his feet as he swung again, the blow being enough to break Jaune’s guard as his left arm which held the shield was knocked back before he tried to cut Jaune in half.

Now coming to his senses, Jaune did a dodge roll, actually jumping over the sword that was swinging low, jumping back to put some space between them but Odolwa wasn’t playing around, easily shortening that space due to his large size.

‘ _ Okay he’s big and fast, not a good combo, _ ’ Jaune thought doing nothing but dodging as he had no time to do a counter attack and he wasn’t risking it. ‘ _ But I need to do something, I can’t dodge forever. _ ’

The only thing he could do was go in close, but Odolwa had a lot of range with his giant sword showing that it won’t be easy.

Having enough Odolwa moved, becoming a blur with Jaune cursing.

Oh great, he could go faster, as if he wasn’t terrified enough already.

Thankfully he could track the blur due to the afterimages before he threw up his shield again only to have Odolwa kick him, sending him rolling as his sword was sent flying out of his hand.

“Jaune, get up!” Tatl shouted with Jaune groaning as he could taste iron showing that he was kicked hard enough to cough up blood.

It was amazing that he didn’t break anything-Oh crap!

Jaune rolled out of the way as a sword came down where his head was a second ago, making it to his feet, Jaune quickly glanced around to try and find his sword only to curse.

Odolwa was between him and his sword, cutting him off.

This was very bad, up until now he fought mindless monsters who were predictable, who followed a pattern. Now he was fighting a monster who can think and plan.

As Odolwa lunged at him, Jaune came up with a stupid idea, jumping out of the way and pulling out a mask he swore to never use.

The Bomb Mask.

Placing it on his face, Jaune waited to block the sword strike, using the momentum to spin, putting him closer towards Odolwa as he focused his magic.

** _-Kaboooom-_ **

Odolwa cried out in pain, taking a step back as Jaune grimaced, burns showing on his armor with his hands bleeding a bit.

Taking off his mask, Jaune was shown to have burns on the sides of his face with soot in his hair, some blood dripping from the burns before he threw a Deku Nut at Odolwa’s face who blocked it with a shield.

It was the opening he needed to grab his sword, only for Odolwa to move and slam his shield into Jaune’s shield arm as he wasn’t able to raise it in time despite Tatl’s warning, a loud crack filling the air.

White filled Jaune’s vision as a hot flashing pain overcame him with his left arm going limp in an awkward position showing that it was broken before Odolwa went to slice him, Jaune using his sword to block. But the force was enough to send Jaune flying right into a wall where he slid down it, coughing up more blood, his vision swimming from all of the injuries he’s received since entering the temple.

“Odolwa! Odolwa!” Odolwa began to chant, seemingly taunting Jaune before he raised his sword to do a finishing blow.

It didn’t come as Tatl actually flew out and somehow grabbed the ribbons on Odolwa’s mask, tugging at them annoying the monster who was now trying to swat at her.

Trying to keep awake, Jaune hissed in pain as he tried to straighten his arm out, knowing that Tatl wouldn’t be able to distract him forever before reaching in his bag to pull out the bottle of Red Potion, downing it after using his teeth to pull the cork out.

Another flash of immense pain filled Jaune as his arm fixed itself before it stopped with him panting.

It ached but it wasn’t broken anymore, on the bright side his other injuries were fixed and he felt rejuvenated, no longer tired.

Man this stuff would make a killing being sold in Remnant.

Odolwa hasn’t noticed yet with Jaune taking full advantage of it as he ran in there, stabbing his foot making Odolwa cry out in shock before he jumped and was on the other side of the room with Tatl flying close to Jaune.

“You alright?” Tatl asked in concern, looking just as scared as Jaune.

“I am, thanks for distracting him.” Jaune said smiling at her, but keeping his gaze on Odolwa who began to dance around as several large blue bugs began to fall from the ceiling and crawl towards Jaune who knew he couldn’t fight them and Odolwa at the same time.

So he pulled a bomb out and threw it, hoping to kill a few, much to his surprise however they all went towards the bomb showing that light drew them.

He didn’t watch them all explode, sending bits of them all over the place with Jaune jumping back to dodging Odolwa who began to dance once more with a ring of fire now surrounding them.

“This is insane!” Tatl cried out having to take cover in Jaune’s hoodie due to the flames.

‘ _ You’re telling me. _ ’ Jaune thought terrified.

And there was no escape because he knew that Odolwa wouldn’t just let him play the Song of Soaring or the Song of Time.

The only way to survive was to win.

He was pretty low on a lot of his gear and he had no more of the potion in case he needed it.

Throwing another Deku Nut, Jaune ran in when Odolwa blocked it and sliced at his foot before jumping to the side to dodge another sword strike, using hit and run tactics.

Odolwa however realized that and jumped, keeping his distance before he breathed in and much to Jaune’s shock he began to breathe out those moths that attacked him in an earlier part of the temple.

Cursing, Jaune had to run as they chased him with Odolwa watching his movements, most likely planning on when and where to strike.

“Jaune, Bomb Mask!” Tatl suggested with him grimacing.

But he listened as he could see what she meant by the suggestion.

The moths were too small to try and cut with his sword along with there being too many. The explosion would definitely be able to take out a lot, if not all of them.

So he placed it on and braced himself before the explosion took care of them, he had no time to take it off with having to block Odolwa’s sword once more. It was like a dance with him blocking each strike, having to move to keep from being knocked off balance.

But his arms were getting tired showing that if he didn’t end this fight soon then he wouldn’t be able to win.

Eyes scanning the room looking for something to use, his eyes fell upon the Deku Flower and an insane idea flashed through his head. If it didn’t work he was dead. If he did nothing he was dead… He had to risk it.

Given how he was still wearing the Bomb Mask, Jaune focused and the explosion stunned Odolwa long enough for him to throw his last Deku Nut, blinding him.

Now on borrowed time, Jaune ran towards the Deku Flower, pulling out the Deku Mask to put on as he could hear Odolwa recover and chasing after him.

One transformation later, Jaune dove in there, feeling the sword barely miss where his head was as he was inside of the flower with Odolwa chanting in anger before Jaune let himself fly with a spin, his head spike slicing into Odolwa making him stumble as Jaune was pretty high into the air before he let go of the flowers and took his mask off, replacing it with the bomb mask, now gripping his sword and shield.

Odolwa roared and jumped up about ready to end this with Jaune blocking, using the momentum to do a flip to where he was now sliding down the freaking sword, jumping off and actually kicking Odolwa in the face making him jerk a bit before jamming his sword in the guys shoulder, actually managing to position himself on Odolwa’s back.

‘ _ D-Did I really just do that?!’ _ Jaune thought, surprised that actually worked while Odolwa roared in pain and shook around frantically trying to get Jaune off who kept a tight grip on his sword, pushing it in deeper to cause the guy more pain.

Focusing he used the Bomb Mask once more injuring both himself and Odolwa, dropping his shield to reach back and pull an arrow from the quiver and jam it onto his back.

Jaune repeated that action, using each and every one of his remaining arrows to cause further pain before using the Bomb Mask once more.

As he did so, Odolwa finally managed to throw Jaune off his back, his sword coming out as well with Jaune stumbling as he landed on his feet looking severely injured from all of the explosions so he took off the bomb mask to avoid doing any more damage.

But Odolwa was worse as he was literally on one knee, struggling to keep up, showing how much damage Jaune had managed to do with that strategy.

Taking a second to catch his breath, Jaune pulled a bomb out and threw it, the explosion was enough for him to lose focus with Jaune lunging at Odolwa now slicing into his throat with Crocea Mors.

It was silent before Odolwa erupted in flames crying out as his body disappeared, his mask hanging in the air for a split second before falling to the floor.

H-He did it.

Jaune panted heavily in a state of disbelief before he picked up the mask… Odolwa’s Remains.

Looking over the mask as Tatl flew out in surprise at how that ended before a bright light filled the room making Jaune cover his eyes.

As it died down, he lowered his arm only to give a start as he was on a platform surrounded by green water and stone pillars, with the water falling off the pillars, mirroring a waterfall, a mist surrounding both him and Tatl.

“W-Where are we?” Tatl asked looking around while Jaune kept an eye out for any form of attack. “Wait, I see something!”

Following her gaze, Jaune tensed as he saw a being that was way taller than Odolwa, seeing the large skinny legs through the mist, looking up his neck craning as he did so until he saw that the face was obscured by the mist.

After staring for a bit, Jaune realized that it looked like one of those figures that was crudely drawn on the wall in the room where he faced Odolwa.

That meant this was the Guardian Deity of Woodfall Temple.

Suddenly the Deity threw his long arms into the air as the area around them began to shake as the deity seemed to be making quite the odd noise, making Jaune cover his ears in pain to try and lessen it.

It was like a trumpet for some odd reason. Like some sort… Of-.

A song. It was showing a song.

Tatl seemed to realize that as well. “What are you waiting for? Get your Ocarina out!”

Grimacing as his ears were hurting from the Deity, Jaune tried to discern the notes before giving it a try, playing the song beat for beat, following its hum. As he finished the notes, the Deity repeated them with Jaune playing in tandem, the two of them creating a melody that reverberated the air around them.

Tatl however could hear the Deity speak. “Call… Us… With… Oath… To… Order.” She said once Jaune finished the song.

“Oath to Order?” Jaune asked before seeing the Deity fading away. “W-Wait!”

He tried to hold a hand out to get his attention, but yet another bright light filled the air as both he and Tatl were back in the Temple, a room he didn’t recognize but he saw a tunnel where light was reaching them.

It seemed that he was teleported to an exit.

The two of them stood there in silence, unable to believe what just happened before Tatl spoke. “The four people that Tatl spoke of… That was one of them wasn’t it?” She asked with Jaune nodding, wincing in pain from his new injuries that he gained after the potion.

None of them were life threatening but they still stung.

Due to Jaune not saying anything, Tatl then flew around him. “But hey you were amazing in there, even though it was shaky in the beginning you managed to defeat a powerful monster.” She said, happy that they survived. “That jump in the air was incredible.”

“Y-You think so?” Jaune asked a bit sheepish given how he made that part up as he went along.

He was still amazed that it worked and he felt proud of himself.

Sure it was terrifying and he nearly died a dozen times in that fight alone, but he won… He won.

Tatl flew up and down as if she was nodding before she hesitated and flew back a bit, giving Jaune some space, confusing the blonde. “Hey Jaune… I’m sorry.”

Jaune blinked. “For what?”

Tatl let her wings droop. “For dragging you into Termina… Helping Skull Kid steal your Ocarina. Demeaning you when you were a Deku Scrub,” She elaborated, her wings drooping even further as she listed off the things she did. “I know I apologized in the beginning but after everything that happened, I wanted to apologize again.”

Hearing that, Jaune smiled as he could tell that she really meant it this time. Last time she only said sorry because they were stuck together. Now however she truly meant it.

“It’s fine Tatl, I forgave you a long time ago.” Jaune said, rubbing his neck. “Sure I was angry at the time but I’m happy this did happen.”

“How can you be happy?!” Tatl asked, flabbergasted by that.

“If I wasn’t pulled here then Termina would’ve been destroyed.” Jaune said with her now getting it.

He was the one with the Ocarina. If anyone else was robbed and pulled here they would’ve died on the first cycle.

As much as he hated being robbed, turned into a child Deku Scrub against his own will, purposely causing a time loop, he knew that because it was him this world had a chance.

And defeating Odolwa proved it.

“Now we just need to release the other three and we can get that mask off of Skull Kid.” Jaune said with determination in his eyes.

“After you train a bit more, we don’t know what could be waiting for us and if Odolwa of all things was one of them.” Tatl looked nervous with Jaune swallowing a bit.

R-Right… He needed to get stronger and he had a new weapon to train with.

They had all the time in the world to get better, he’ll probably take longer than a month to train up his skills-.

“H-Hello?” A new voice made both Jaune and Tatl spin around to see a hollowed tree log with thick, heavy vines covering the entrance like bars.

Tilting his head to the side, Jaune sliced through them with his sword to see a Deku Scrub trapped there. He guessed this was the Princess since it was a young female Deku Scrub with ornate makeup on her face.

“Whaa? W-Who are you?” The Deku Princess asked in surprise while Jaune sheathed his sword.

Remembering this was a princess, Jaune hurriedly bowed. “The name’s Jaune Arc, your highness.” He said politely.

“Jaune? Pleased to meet you. I am the Deku Princess!” She returned the bow, taking note of his injuries. “Were you by chance asked by that monkey to come save me?”

Jaune chuckled sheepishly. “Yeah, he was really worried about you.” He said, worried about how the monkey was doing given how earlier that morning he was tied up.

“I thought so, I can smell Monkey on you.” The Deku Princess revealed with Jaune blinking as he sniffed his arm to see if he smelled different. “Oh don’t worry you don’t stink, us Deku’s have a strong sense of smell.”

‘ _ Wait then why didn’t I have one as a Deku? _ ’ Jaune thought to himself before deciding not to think on it right now.

“Still he made it back fine after all, that’s good.” The Deku Princess walked past Jaune, happy to be out of her cell. “I was worried that if I didn’t come home that father would think that monkey kidnapped me! I was even worried that he would go as far as to punish the monkey.”

She chuckled only to realize that Jaune didn’t answer and she turned back to see him looking nervous, dread now filling her.

“Don’t tell me.” She said with a pleading tone only for Jaune to nod. “Are you serious?!? We need to get back now!”

* * *

Making it outside, Jaune was amazed by how different the area looked.

The poisoned water was now clear with the monsters gone… He just cleansed the whole swamp of poison by killing Odolwa.

“It’s four in the afternoon, we were in there for a few hours.” Tatl mused with Jaune nodding, pulling out his Ocarina. “You might want to stick close to us, your Highness, we’ll be at the Palace in a split second.”

“What are you-?” The Princess was cut off as Jaune played the Song of Soaring and moments later they were in front of the Owl Statue by the Palace. “A-Amazing.”

Jaune went red at that feeling a bit embarrassed before they ran towards the Palace with him not even pulling the mask out so the Guards went to stop him only to see the dark, angry look on the Deku Princess face scaring them enough to allow Jaune to get in.

Making it to the Royal Chamber Jaune, Tatl and the Princess were rather horrified as the Monkey was being held upside down over a pot of boiling water showing that they were planning to boil him alive as punishment.

“Halt, who are you?!” The King demanded at seeing Jaune, only to see his daughter standing next to him who was shaking in anger. “Oh, my Princess! My darling Princess! Are you alright? I was so worried-is this Terminan the one who kidnapped you?!”

Jaune paled at seeing this go out of hand as the Princess slowly approached the King. “F-Foolish Father.” She said her tone scaring just about everyone before she flat out tackled the king and began to jump up and down on his chest.

Jaune and Tatl stared, not sure what to say about this as the guards slowly approached the Princess and the King, unsure of what to do. Should anyone attack the King they were supposed to protect him but the attacker was the Princess-who was now glaring at them.

“What are you waiting for?! Release that poor Monkey this instant!”

Not wanting to risk her wrath, the Guards obeyed with no hesitation as the Monkey was happy to be untied and standing up once again with the Princess next to him looking the guy over for any serious injuries.

“Oh, Mr. Monkey I am truly sorry,” The Princess said sadly to him. “My father does rash things when he’s worried about me.”

“I understand, Princess!” The Monkey said with a friendly smile before looking worried. “Forget about that. Has the temple returned to normal?”

The Deku Princess gave a nod and turned towards Jaune who looked a bit awkward, leading for the Monkey to look his way, recognition in his eyes. “Why yes, thanks to Mr. Arc here. I am truly grateful.”

“Those clothes.” The Monkey muttered as Jaune smiled.

“Yeah I have an ability to turn into a Deku Scrub.” Jaune revealed stunning him and the Princess. “It’s certainly saved my life in that temple.”

“That ability aside I owe you Mr. Arc,” The Monkey said nodding his head. “Thank you for keeping your promise to me.”

“It’s no problem but call me Jaune, Mr. Arc makes me feel old.” Jaune said, earning a chuckle from the Monkey.

“Alright Jaune.”

The Princess took a step forward. “As a symbol of our gratitude, our Butler has prepared a little something for you. Please accept it.” She said, gaining Jaune’s attention. “It’s to the left of the Palace, but it’s to the right when you exit it.”

“Across the water?” Jaune asked with the Princess nodding. “Got it.”

“Do you wish for us to look at your injuries?” The Princess offered but she was surprised when Jaune shook his head.

“Nah I have a way to heal them.” Jaune said given how he was going to stop by the Fairy Fountain before looking for the Deku Butler.

** _~Night of the Second Day~_ **

** _-Thirty-Six Hours Remain-_ **

Jaune sighed as he finally found the cave leading to the Great Fairy Fountain after searching the area around the temple, so he ran into the water, feeling his injuries heal as the fifteen fairies shot out of the mask in his gear bag and flew around combining with the others before the Great Fairy of Woodfall made an appearance.

She looked just like the one from Clock Town, the only difference being however that she had emerald green hair as she smiled down at Jaune who quickly bowed along with Tatl.

“Oh young one I am the Great Fairy of Wisdom,” The Great Fairy introduced herself. “Thank you for returning my broken and shattered body to normal.”

“I-It’s no trouble at all.” Jaune said, keeping his head bowed. “Um… Thanks for healing my injuries.”

“Considering what you’ve done it’s a given to heal you.” Wisdom said to him with Jaune finally looking up to see the smile on her face. “As thanks I shall enhance your magic power.”

Holding out her hands, Jaune felt a surge of energy rushing through him as she basically extended his magic reserves making it more powerful, Jaune’s eyes were glowing for a split second before the energy disappeared.

“Any use of your magic will be even more potent, however you need to learn to fully control it to use it to its full potential,” Wisdom warned as being given twice as much as he had would lead to issues if not practiced enough. “Seek the Great Fairy of Clock Town should you need help.”

“Thank you.” Jaune said bowing once more as she disappeared before he held his hand as a green glow came across it.

… Yeah he’ll definitely be looking into how to control this.

“Okay, we should see what the Deku Butler wants with us.” Tatl suggested with Jaune giving a nod with them leaving the fountain. “The Princess said that it was to the left of the Palace?”

“Yeah, this should be interesting.”

* * *

Jaune whistled as he made his way into the Deku Shrine after swimming across the lake not having to worry about the poison anymore when the Deku Butler bowed towards him out of respect, that action surprised Jaune.

“The Savior of Woodfall Swamp, I am truly thankful for everything you’ve done for our Princess,” The Butler said looking at him with gratitude. “Though if I may, can I see your Deku Form?”

It seemed he was listening in when Jaune said that, so he obliged by taking the mask out with the Butler gaining a sad look at seeing the mask, the face of it looking very familiar.

As Jaune changed, the Butler gave a nod. “Just as I thought.” He whispered confusing Jaune but he continued before the blonde could ask. “As promised we have prepared something to assist you, please follow me.”

Much to Jaune’s surprise the Butler pulled out an Umbrella and began to fly down the corridor before he snapped out of it and took off after the Butler, not even thinking of taking the mask off as he found he could keep up pretty well, especially when he adds a spin to his running as a Scrub.

The Butler seemed to notice that and a feeling of nostalgia began to wash over him as he began to increase his speed, wanting to see if Jaune could keep up.

Jaune noticed and while he was confused he couldn’t help but feel a pang of competitiveness go through him as he began to try harder to keep up, barely restraining from letting out a childish laugh with them going from room to room.

Some of the rooms had small obstacles that Jaune had to go through but eventually they made it to the end with both Jaune and the Butler panting. It seemed that flying took a lot of energy from the Butler.

“Well done Jaune,” The Butler said, smiling at Jaune only to tense as Jaune looked at him in a certain way that nearly made him break down. “H-Here is the item as promised, please accept it.”

Jaune tilted his head as he held a pig mask. “Vhat is dis?” He asked, with the Butler seeing that Jaune was still learning to speak as a Deku.

“That is the Mask of Scents, when it’s worn it’ll increase your sense of smell. When Deku’s grow up they gain a heightened sense of smell, but as children that has yet to appear… This mask belonged to my son and I think he would like you to have it.” The Butler explained before turning away from Jaune’s curious gaze. “You remind me of him you know.”

“I do?”

“He left home long ago and when I led you here I couldn’t help but think I was racing my son.” The Butler said with Jaune going quiet. “I may have tried too hard to outrun you despite my old age.”

Hesitantly he reached over and ruffled Jaune’s hair with Jaune feeling a sense of nostalgia.

“Jaune… Take care.” The Deku Butler said with a sad smile.

* * *

Jaune sighed as he was back in the Palace, looking at everyone sadly.

They were so happy. So carefree.

They were saved, the swamp back to normal. Their Princess was rescued.

Yet he had to undo it all, otherwise the moon will fall.

“It never gets easy.” Tatl spoke up, knowing what Jaune was thinking with him nodding.

“Yeah, I know.” He whispered, closing his eyes to say goodbye before he played the Song of Time, some of the guards looking his way, wondering what he was doing before he was gone.

** _To Be Continued…_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man this was a hell of a chapter to type right here, more of an action one compared to the others where Jaune took on two mid bosses and then Odolwa himself, the last one damn near killed him.
> 
> But he defeated Odolwa, saved the Deku Princess, purified the Southern Swamp, got his magic enhanced, gained the Hero’s Bow and received the Mask of Scents bringing the number of masks up to six so he has a quarter of the masks already.
> 
> Not bad right?
> 
> He’s already a quarter of the way done with getting ready to defeat Skull Kid, but the fight with Odolwa did show that he had a very long way to go. Oh and I know that you can get a bottle after purifying the swamp, but I think at this stage Jaune would have no chance with how little experience he has with the Bow so it’ll come much later.


	7. Training Cycles

** _~Dawn of the First Day~_ **

** _-Seventy-Two Hours Remain-_ **

Jaune hummed to himself as he sat on a bench near the Stock Pot Inn, reading one of the many books he managed to borrow from a local Library.

He already skimmed through a few ones about some of the monsters he already fought, along with the tourist spots of Termina… Hey he wanted to at least enjoy himself a little in Termina.

All of this rewinding time, he needs to take a break every now and then, but that was for the future-er future present?

Whatever the correct term for this was.

There wasn’t anything on controlling magic though, so Jaune knew that he would have to talk to the Great Fairy if he wanted to progress with that and Jaune felt confident in his sword skills to try and get a higher lesson from the Swordsman. Though talking to him was going to be… Difficult considering how the guy won’t remember him.

But the book he was reading right now was Archery… For Dummies.

This was something he really needed to learn, especially if he wanted to make the best of everything he has. There was even a book on the biology of Deku Scrubs, in case there was something he missed about being a Deku.

So this cycle was going to be nothing but a studying one while he recuperated from that mess in Woodfall. His injuries might be healed, but he could still vividly remember the pain of his arm breaking.

“We should set up some targets to practice with outside of town.” Tatl voiced, helping Jaune bit by bit as she was in his hair looking at the book. “Maybe do a few cycles practicing with that before going after some monsters.”

“That way I can actually hit a target without taking a few tries before we get into another fight?” Jaune asked with Tatl answering with a ring. “Makes sense, though it’s definitely going to be frustrating.”

“Just be sure to keep up with your sword skills, we can’t let them rust while you work on Archery.”

Jaune gave a nod, agreeing with that.

Perhaps a day of archery followed by a day of swordsmanship before resting on the final day and then reset before doing the same thing? He can’t forget to work on his Deku Scrub either.

He’ll need to work on a schedule to keep up with what he has and can do.

“Should I learn to make potions?” Jaune found himself asking after a few minutes of silence, his question catching Tatl by surprise.

“You mean like the one you used while I was distracting Odolwa?” Jaune gave a nod, confirming Tatl’s question. “They don’t make those where you come from so it would be a good idea in case you ever needed it.”

“And I’d rather have it and not need it then need it and not have it.”

Tatl agreed with that line of thinking.

Everything they found or did turned out to be pretty useful so they were going to go with the mindset to keep whatever they find or use on them at all times in case they ever need it.

** _~Dawn of the Second Day~_ **

** _-Forty-Eight Hours Remain-_ **

Jaune fidgeted as the Great Fairy floated over him after he grabbed the stray fairy once more, with her pondering on his question.

“You wish to have a detailed explanation on how your magic works?” The Great Fairy asked, crossing her arms with Jaune giving a nod. “Hm I suppose it would be better if you knew how to properly use it, I apologize for not being more clear when you received it.”

“It’s fine, a lot was happening.” Jaune said, rubbing the back of his head.

The Great Fairy gave a nod, a smile going across her face. “But I can sense that your reserves are filled with twice as much magic that I gave you,” She said seeing what happened. “You released one of the four and helped one of my sisters.”

“It wasn’t easy.” Jaune said idly rubbing his left arm before looking serious. “But that’s why I need to master everything I have and I don’t know anything about magic.”

“And you can’t control it.” The Great Fairy’s smile disappeared as she could see a problem. “I’d hoped that you would be able to have a lot of control before you helped my sister but you’ve barely tapped into it.”

“How bad is this?” Tatl asked, seeing the change of expression.

“Magic while helpful in your quest is very dangerous and when granted by a Great Fairy can build up even when you don’t use it,” The Great Fairy explained, showing a reason behind how Jaune’s magic does seem to last when he does tap into it. “Should you not use it regularly it will build up until you can’t contain it anymore which was why I gave you a small amount to start off with.”

Jaune had a sudden image of his magic destroying his body with limbs shooting off should he not learn it and paled.

“Oh it’s nothing like that,” The Great Fairy said guessing what he was thinking from his face. “But it’s dangerous to those around you as the build up will escape and harm them.”

Holding her hand out, the Great Fairy seemed to be judging how much built up before smiling.

“If you waited another two weeks you would’ve had your first mishap.” She revealed before gesturing to Jaune to sit down. “You’ve instinctevely used magic but you’ve never actually focused while you were human have you?”

Jaune went to deny that but it died down after hearing that last part.

Right, whenever he used magic with his swordsmanship it was on instinct rather than actually using it… Was it because of the build-up from his month of training?

“Then why could I focus it easily when I’m a Deku Scrub?”

“It’s because while you are nearly an adult your Deku Scrub form is that of a child and they have an easier time developing magic,” The Great Fairy explained to him. “That’s why most magic users are trained at a younger age to prevent problems when they grow up. Luckily you have the form to learn how to properly wield it and you should be able to extend the control to your Human Form with practice.”

Jaune looked lost in thought as he glanced down at his hand, wondering just what full control over the magic he had would look like. He already knew that he never scratched the surface of what it was capable of long before he entered the temple.

“Hey er, what type of spells would I be able to use once I master this?” Jaune couldn’t help but ask, remembering the adventure stories, video games or comics he read that depicted magic.

The Great Fairy gave a laugh. “It takes years to actually master the use of magic, spells take even longer.” She said with Jaune now looking a little crushed.

Years, he didn’t have years.

“Unless they’re handed out by Great Fairies.” Just like that he was giving her a confused look. “Only one of my sisters has the power to do that in Termina, if you want the other spells you would either have to train or find the Great Fairies in your world.”

Jaune froze not expecting that.

“T-They exist on Remnant?” Jaune asked, shocked by that.

He didn’t question how the Great Fairy even knew about Remnant considering she knew about his time travelling but to hear that entities like the Great Fairies actually existed there was a surprise.

“Yes, long before the land was called Remnant,” The Great Fairy explained, further drawing Jaune’s interest. “I would explain more but we can’t afford to be distracted at the moment.”

Jaune gave a nod despite wanting to know.

But he made a mental note to try and find the Great Fairies in Remnant to see what else he could learn.

He did have a question though.

“So how did I end up in Termina?” Jaune looked at the Great Fairy who tilted her head as she floated around him.

“Yeah I’m curious about that too considering he ended up in the woods leading to Termina.” Tatl inputted, being quiet throughout the whole exchange.

“The woods-I see,” The Great Fairy cupped her chin in thought. “You entered through the Lost Woods, it’s the only portal from Hyrule-sorry Remnant into Termina these days.”

“The Lost Woods?” Jaune whispered now remembering how he was confused with the woods being different.

“Yes a very dangerous place to be, should one get lost in the Lost Woods the magic of that place would slowly drain your life leaving you nothing but a husk of what you were, a Stalfos if you will or considering your age a Skull Kid.”

As she said that she held out her hand to make an image of what a Stalfos was appearing with Jaune going pale.

H-He almost died in those Lost Woods?! Wait he almost became ‘a’ Skull Kid?! He always thought that was his name not species.

“Yet you lived long enough to run into the Masked Imp,” The Great Fairy gave Jaune a critical look. “Do you by any chance know The song of the forest?”

“Song of the forest?” Jaune asked, not understanding.

Expecting that, the Great Fairy put two fingers in her mouth and began to whistle a very familiar tune despite how different it sounded.

Jaune gave a start before nodding enthusiastically. “That’s Saria’s Song! I was playing that to calm myself down because I didn’t want to attract any Grimm.”

“Saria? One of the former sages of the Forest Temple. You inadvertently saved your own life because that song opens up paths through the Lost Woods and kept the dark magic at bay.” The Great Fairy revealed, flooring Jaune with how that could’ve ended. “Yet something pulled you into the Lost Woods… Something is testing you.”

“A-A test?” Jaune whispered wishing he knew exactly what was going on.

The Great Fairy kept quiet before changing the subject, deciding to let Jaune come to terms with that on his own. “Now back to you mastering your magic do you remember how it felt when you used it?”

Jaune slowly gave a nod.

At first it was like an itch, but after using it a bit more he felt a flow to it, but only as a Scrub, when he was Human it felt completely different, with energy flowing through his arm into his sword rather than his whole body.

“Think of that feeling and cultivate it, make it flow through your whole body until it becomes second nature, then we will go to the next step.” The Great Fairy instructed the blonde swordsman. “Be warned that this will take more than one cycle, once you reset I want you to practice this along with your other skills that you’re working on.”

* * *

Two Cycles later, Jaune was outside of Clock Town as he held the Hero’s Bow in his hand.

He spent the last two cycles working on magic control, while he wasn’t anywhere close to being done with it all, he wanted to start on Archery Practice.

Currently he was facing a tree that had some red paint on it for a makeshift target, the paint actually being jelly from a Red Chuchu.

Tatl was currently in Clock Town, wanting to take care of a few things, Jaune didn’t ask but he will admit it felt weird to not have her around after the two of them were around each other for a good month.

Still he had to keep practicing.

Taking a deep breath, Jaune pulled an arrow from his quiver and notched it, now knowing that the butt end of the arrow actually notches onto the bow string, holding it down with his thumb, index and middle finger. The index finger being above the notch while the thumb and middle finger was below it.

Doing this made pulling the string back much easier, especially because he was using his back muscles to draw it back instead of just pulling with his arms like how he did in the temple.

It even made keeping it still easier allowing for him to aim.

Though there were still a few trembles due to him not being used to this along with him needing to practice but he finally let go and the arrow hit the tree with quite the loud … A few inches above where the target began.

While initially disappointed, Jaune couldn’t keep the grin off his face considering how easy the bow responded to him this time.

So Jaune pulled out another arrow, ready to rinse and repeat until he could at least hit one bulls-eye.

** _~Night of the First Day~_ **

** _-Sixty Hours Remain-_ **

Jaune groaned while laying out in the field, broken arrows all around him.

He hasn’t hit a single bulls-eye, though he did get pretty close a few times showing that he was getting it down. And he was out of arrows as a lot of them kept breaking when he tried to retrieve them.

“You do know that laying out here will make you easy pickings for a Wolfos right?” Tatl’s voice made him chuckle.

“I’m not that out of it.” Jaune promised given how he was keeping an eye on his surroundings while resting before he blinked. “So did you take care of what you were doing?”

Tatl paused for a few seconds before flying down to where she was actually sitting on one of the broken arrow shafts. “I went to the clock tower,” She revealed, earning a very concerned look from Jaune who clearly wasn’t expecting that. “Skull Kid didn’t see me or if he did he didn’t care.”

“So he didn’t try anything?” Jaune asked glancing towards the Clock Tower where he was certain Skull Kid was. “Why?”

“I don’t think he remembers the other cycles so he’s probably certain that we can’t win no matter what we do.” Tatl reasoned with Jaune agreeing with that theory given how everything was.

“He’s not exactly wrong,” Jaune sighed as he said that before brightening up. “But when we do go to end this, that train of thought will let us surprise him.”

Tatl didn’t answer that. “I saw Tael there.” She managed to get out. “He’s alive.”

As if a switch was flipped, Jaune saw Tatl shivering and it took him a moment to realize that she was beginning to cry.

“I didn’t-I.” Tatl could barely get anything else out as Jaune was unsure of what to do before he came to a conclusion.

Tatl was surprised when Jaune gently picked her up with his hands and gave a light hug.

“Jaune,” Tatl managed to get out after a few seconds, sniffling. “What are you doing?”

“I can’t be there for a friend?” Jaune asked clearly remembering when Tatl did something like this the time he nearly broke down after killing the Skulltula.

Looking back at it knowing about how the Deku Form had its own personality, Jaune was a little embarrassed by how childish he acted like that but Tatl was there for him when he needed it so he wanted to be there for her.

Tatl eventually flew herself out of his hug, coughing to hide some embarrassment for breaking down like that. “Right, so what’s next for you to work on?”

Chuckling a bit at her way of changing the conversation, Jaune indulged her by answering. “I’m going to keep working on my archery, but when we do restart the cycle I’m going to try and get more advanced classes from the Swordsman.” He said his voice cracking a bit showing that he wasn’t looking forward to that.

“Good thing we know where to find some silver rupees.” Tatl commented given how Jaune had to buy some more arrows until he learned how to make them. “Let’s get back to town to rest though.”

Jaune gave a nod, standing up to wipe dirt off his clothes.

On the way back however, Jaune frowned in thought.

Tatl’s mention of Skull Kid not remembering the other timelines had him confused. If the Great Fairies who Skull Kid clearly overpowered and destroyed could remember them then he should be able to.

Yet it was clear that he didn’t.

Why was that?

“Hey Jaune,” Tatl’s voice made Jaune turn to the Fairy who hovered in place for a second. “Thanks.”

Knowing what she was talking about, Jaune just smiled. “It’s no problem.”

** _~Dawn of the Third Day~_ **

** _-Twenty-Four Hours Remain-_ **

Jaune held his sword as he focused, trying to have his Magic go into the sword by choice rather than instinct.

His Archery left much to be desired after the second day so he switched gears to try and work on his magic but he was getting nowhere.

A faint glow finally began to envelop the blade after two minutes of focus before dying out, making Jaune grimace as it was a lot brighter than he intended showing that he was probably focusing too much.

At times it was too little with it not working at all but too much and it’s only a spark.

There had to be a balance for him to use.

“You do remember that you can focus more easily as a Deku Scrub right?” Tatl asked, seeing Jaune’s frustration.

“I know, but I need to make progress as a Human.” Jaune answered a bit bitterly, not at Tatl but at his lack of progress.

Especially when he already did practice as a Scrub, but he can’t seem to make it work like this. If he can’t master this then what good could he be against Skull Kid?

‘ _ Stop thinking like that. _ ’ Jaune scolded himself, glad that he didn’t say that out loud.

Self-Doubt is a weakness he can’t afford to show.

Closing his eyes, Jaune focused, trying to will the magic into the blade to find a balance to help make his strikes stronger than ever. To try and learn how to actually manage his magic to avoid any mishaps in the future.

As he focused however he didn’t seem to notice how his blade was beginning to glow, energy swirling around it before it extended about four feet much to Tatl’s shock.

Before she could voice what she was seeing however it dissipated, not even lasting for a single second while Jaune fell to his knees, pure exhaustion on his now pale face as he tried to catch his breath.

Flying closer, Tatl saw the problem. “You idiot, you used up every bit of magic that you had doing that!” She yelled, showing this problem to be magical exhaustion.

“I-Is that bad?” Jaune asked not getting why she was yelling.

Surely given enough time his magic would refill given the nature of it.

“Doing that leaves you vulnerable, you can barely move right now!” Tatl shouted, surprising Jaune who found out she was right.

He couldn’t stand up or lift his arms from how exhausted he was.

He used up all of his magic in a single second? He really needed to work on his control.

Thankfully after being like this for a few minutes he was finally able to move, but he still felt exhausted.

“Okay so don’t do that when I’m surrounded by monsters,” Jaune simply stated with Tatl giving him a look for pointing out the obvious. “Hey at least I know that now.”

Tatl went to say something only for the sound of horses to cut in causing the two to look and see a few carriages exiting Clock Town, heading in the direction of a location that seemed to be between the Swamp where Woodfall Temple laid and the Ocean where another one of the Giants were.

“I wonder where they go to try and escape the moon?” Jaune asked sadly knowing that it didn’t matter where they would go if it were to fall.

“I think they head towards Romani Ranch, it’s where the Milk Bar usually gets its milk from.” Tatl commented with Jaune wondering about the Ranch.

So he began to follow the evacuee’s.

* * *

It didn’t take long for them to reach Romani Ranch, past a pretty convenient Owl Statue where he could see a huge open field with a house, a barn and a few shacks.

The horse carriages were coming to a stop at the farm while Jaune began to look around curiously seeing a dog chasing a few chickens that made him chuckle.

It was oddly peaceful around here if one were to ignore the spontaneous earthquakes that happened on the third day.

“Wait… Where are the cows?” Tatl couldn’t help but ask as she has seen this place before. “There should be at least dozens of them around the field.”

“Maybe they’re inside given the moon being around?” Jaune pointed out with Tatl not finding much fault with that logic before they came across a weird sight.

It was a twelve year old girl with shoulder length orange hair, wearing a knee-long white dress sitting on a box staring blankly ahead with what seemed to be dead blue eyes.

Jaune really got concerned when this girl began to shake violently as she grabbed her head as if in pain.

“Hey are you alright?” He called out to the girl.

At first it seemed like she didn’t hear him but then she gave him a blank look that showed no expression except for confusion mixed with pain. “W-What? Who are you?” She muttered before she was back to shaking her head.

“Jaune I don’t think we can help this girl.” Tatl said softly, seeing how this was affecting him a little.

To see a kid like that really made him want to help.

Maybe he could come back on an earlier day-... But then he would have to erase helping her.

Seeing her shake in pain again, Jaune narrowed his eyes.

He’ll try to help her in one of the cycles, at least then there would be one where she wouldn’t be in pain.

Still he left her alone and explored the ranch a bit more, making it to a shack that had chickens painted on the front.

Feeling curious, Jaune entered to see quite a few baby chickens along with a single shirtless man who was leaning against a tree wearing nothing but a pair of pants, his mohawk drooping.

This man looked up to see Jaune and sighed. “Welcome to the Cucco Shack,” He greeted in a tired tone. “Not that it matters, did you hear about the moon falling?”

Jaune grimaced as he gave a nod. “Yeah, scary isn’t it?”

“I was told that people from Clock Town ran away here as well, like that matters if it falls so why run?” The man asked his voice turning somber to show his acceptance of death. “No one can outrun it.”

Man this was doing nothing but depressing Jaune but before he could say anything else, one of the baby chi-... Cucco’s jumped up on the man’s leg causing him to smile, something that looked a little out of place.

“My only regret is that I won’t be able to see these guys grow up into Roosters,” He voiced showing a fond look. “They’re old enough but they need a boost of magic.”

“Any chance I can help?” Jaune asked, thinking he could at least help this guy out before restarting the cycle. “I can use magic.”

The man glanced up, inspecting Jaune’s face. “You have a spell to command animals?” He asked, seeing Jaune’s face fall, making the guy sigh. “It’s fine I wasn’t getting my hopes up anyways.”

Now he really felt ba-... Command Animals.

Just like that Jaune remembered the mask that guy with the music box gave him.

Reaching into his gear bag he pulled out the Bremen Mask.

“Jaune?” Tatl asked not sure what he was thinking before the teen placed the Bremen Mask on his face.

It wasn’t like the transformation masks, but a solution ran through Jaune’s mind the moment he put on the mask, a grin on his face as he pulled out his Ocarina, twirling it like one of those Ringleaders of a Circus.

Raising it to his lips as his legs began to march, Jaune began to play a tune that ran through his head making the guy glance up at him in confusion along with Tatl being concerned by how the blonde was acting.

Especially when he began to march around the room, slowly the baby chickens began to march after him once he passed them showing that something was going on.

After around ten of them began to follow him they began to one by one turn into fully grown Cucco’s with a puff of smoke stunning the guy who began to smile as before long all of them were grown up.

“How did you-?” Tatl had no words for what she just witnessed as Jaune pulled the Bremen Mask off.

“I-... I don’t know, when I put this on it felt natural to do that.” Jaune answered looking at the mask unable to believe that actually worked.

Slowly the guy stood up, a smile on his face as he approached Jaune. “I don’t really get how you did it, but seeing these fellas with a crest and all, I don’t have any regrets,” He said looking very happy. “You came through with your offer to help… Here.”

Jaune was surprised when the man handed him a yellow bunny hood-like mask making him a little uncomfortable.

Would wearing this particular mask be considered racist to the Faunus back in Remnant?

“That mask always helped me out in my youth, I hope it helps you out wherever you go.” The man stood up and left before pausing. “What’s your name?”

“Uh Jaune Arc.” Jaune answered in an unsure tone.

“Jaune huh? I’ll remember it, you can call me Grog.”

Seeing Grog exit, Jaune looked down at the bunny hood before shrugging as he put it on.

It’s not considered racist in Termina, so he shouldn’t worry and he was curious to see what this one would do.

At first nothing happened before instinct took over and Jaune began to run towards the door, kicking up dust and becoming a blur barely skidding to a stop right at the door.

D-Did he just-?

“Wow so this Bunny Hood increases your speed?” Tatl sounded impressed by that. “This will really help out.”

Jaune agreed because if he could use this to get around Termina while looking for the last three temples he will really be saving a lot of time.

Taking the Bunny Hood off, Jaune got the Ocarina out once more to restart the Cycle.

* * *

“Thirty Rupees?!” Jaune balked as he was back in the Swordsman School ready to take the next class after proving he mastered the basics, some sliced logs behind him. “I thought the price was One Rupee.”

The Swordsman looked at him like he was an idiot. “For learning the basics and to give people a chance to survive,” He elaborated to the blonde. “For more advanced techniques you pay more money!”

As he explained that, the Swordsman felt a sense of Deja-Vu as he looked at Jaune.

“Hold on have we met somewhere before?”

Jaune stilled at that but he shook his head, not sure how to really answer that.

The Swordsman raised a brow at the answer but shrugged it off, especially when Jaune pulled out the amount of rupees to pay as the Swordsman gave a nod. “Alright I’ll show you two techniques that I want you to master and we’ll do some sparring to see how far you are.”

With that said, the Swordsman tossed Jaune a wooden sword much to his confusion. “But I already have a sword-.”

“I’m not risking you stabbing me with one of the techniques you’ll need to practice on.” The Swordsman deadpanned given the nature of the attack.

With that he rushed at Jaune who barely threw up his shield to block only for the Swordsman to knock it out of his hands and kick his feet out from underneath him.

“No Shield this time, just the wooden sword.” The Swordsman said sharply to Jaune who gave a nod before the man jumped off, allowing for Jaune to shakily stand up, gripping the wooden sword right as the Swordsman lunged again.

This time Jaune blocked but he could only block from the onslaught of the Swordsman who wasn’t going easy on him in this spar.

Tatl was in the rafters, being quiet as she watched the spar with some interest seeing how the two of them were fighting as she made a note about Jaune who was struggling.

It seemed that he was too used to having a shield on him to compensate for his lack of skills before he was on his back and his eyes widened as the Swordsman jumped and landed on top of Jaune, the wooden sword pointing right at his chest.

“This is a skill called the Ending Blow, a lot of enemies will recover quickly if they’re stunned, but if you’re quick and swift you can use this to end them before that happens.” The Swordsman said before jumping off of Jaune. “Now come at me, I won’t do anything but defend.”

Back on his feet, Jaune frowned as he lunged, his strikes being blocked easily by the Swordsman as he kept going, the two of them stepping around the room with each blow.

Overhead. Side. Backhand. Thrust. Spin.

Every blow was stopped.

This guy was a lot more skilled then he showed before and this was showing Jaune just how lucky he was to survive Odolwa. Or perhaps it was because Odolwa never really blocked that much considering how he was always on the offensive in their fight?

Finally Jaune managed to pierce through his defense, his magic acting up around the blade enough for him to knock the Swordsman off his feet and he didn’t even wait for the guy to land on his back as Jaune was already in the air doing the Ending Blow.

But the Swordsman used the momentum to roll out of the way right as Jaune landed where he was, kicking his feet out from underneath him.

“Well done.” The Swordsman said with the wooden sword pointed right at Jaune’s jugular. “You are very skilled with a blade.”

“I didn't even hit you with that.” Jaune complained only to yelp as the man ‘lightly’ tapped his skull with the wooden blade.

“I’ve been doing this for years, I would’ve been amazed if you did.” The Swordsman deadpanned as Jaune rubbed his head. “I want you to practice that skill until you master it and work with your swordsmanship, you’re good but you have a long way to go.”

After that little spiel he helped Jaune up to his feet, the Swordsman frowning as this really felt familiar, but he ignored it when Jaune spoke. “So what’s this second skill?”

“This next one requires your shield.” The Swordsman said, allowing for Jaune to pick his shield up. “For now just block while I show you how it’s done.”

Jaune hesitated before doing so, barely tensing up his muscles as he blocked when the swordsman forcefully slammed his shield into Jaune’s causing him to take a step back, momentarily off balance before he was knocked back by the sword, landing on his back ready for the Ending Blow.

But the Swordsman allowed for Jaune to stand back up with a patient look. “No matter how tempered a blade is it does nothing against a foe with a shield or armor unless you’re a true master of the blade,” The Swordsman explained to a stunned Jaune. “By slamming your shield into your foe with enough force with the Shield Attack you can make an opening to knock them off their feet to combine with the Ending Blow, now you try it.”

With a nod, Jaune tightly gripped his shield, circling around the Swordsman before doing so, the metal shield was easily superior to the wooden shield in this instance with him doing the attacking as he knocked the Swordsman off balance before hitting him with the sword, making him take a step back.

But he knew that if the Swordsman chose to he would’ve countered that easily.

“Well done, you’re definitely picking up on these two skills pretty fast,” The Swordsman said, feeling proud of this student. “With enough practice the Shield Attack will be able to deflect projectiles such as magic or arrows to launch back at the enemy.”

Okay that impressed Jaune as he could imagine doing that and smiled, wanting to learn more techniques, but he knew that for this cycle this would be all he would learn, especially when the man told Jaune to go out and master those skills before he would learn more.

So he placed the wooden sword back while putting his shield up before he gave a bow of respect, reading that in a book while he was resting. “Thank you.” He said gratefully to a man who was practically his mentor. “For everything.”

That last part just confused the Swordsman as Jaune left.

* * *

“Hyah!” Jaune grunted a few cycles later as he was back in Woodfall, fighting a pack of Wolfos.

He had a few cuts on him showing that they got some good hits in, but he already took down three of them at the same time.

Not wasting any time as one of the Wolfos lunged at him, Jaune slammed his shield into it knocking it off its feet before attempting the Ending Blow, killing it as the sword pierced its chest, doing a backflip to jump over another Wolfos that tried to attack him from behind.

Doing a roll as he put his sword up, Jaune had the Hero’s Bow out and shot an arrow piercing its head before it could even turn.

This was proof that his training was actually doing something, though he only made that shot with how close the Wolfos was, if it was at a greater distance he wouldn’t have been able to hit it.

Hearing rapid movement as Tatl gave a warning, Jaune quickly pulled his shield out to block it, switching the bow out for his sword as he did a spin attack with magic added to the mix, killing the last three Wolfos.

Eight Wolfos… He just took eight down by himself-er with help from Tatl warning him when he was about to be blindsided, but it was much better than last time he faced one while running from the rest of the pack.

With a smile, Jaune sheathed the blade. “So how well do you think I would do against Odolwa now?” He asked a little cockily with Tatl turning to give him a look that was the equivalent of rolling her eyes.

“I’d rather we not test that out.” She deadpanned as they had a theory that Odolwa was back in the temple after they restarted the cycle given how the Swamp was poisonous again.

Jaune just shrugged.

He wasn’t planning on trying that again, especially when he doesn’t have to. But he likes to think that he would do a lot better if he were to face him again.

Still he did plan to go out towards the Mountains after a few more cycles… How long has he been here?

Thinking over it, Jaune came up with a conclusion that with the three days combined with how many times he re-lived them it had to have been three months since Woodfall.

So about four or rather close to five months since he ended up in Termina.

Almost half a year.

The only real thing that he was struggling with was the use of his magic no matter how much he worked on it he could only use it in short spurts, but he was beginning to get a little bit of control to where he wouldn’t use all of it up at once.

So it was progress.

Glancing up at the sky, Jaune smiled as he saw that it was only three in the afternoon while they were on the First Day, Tatl having taught him how to tell time by looking at the position of the Sun.

Just enough time to find another monster to practice on.

** _To Be Continued… _ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright hopefully this chapter was interesting enough despite the fact that it’s pretty much a training montage or explanation one, a lot of it I did seem to gloss over, but I didn’t want to bore anyone with him repeating the three days cycles just to train.
> 
> But I think the results really speak for themselves given how much better he is compared to Woodfall Temple with taking on a pack of Wolfos by himself. He’s also learning more Swordsmanship and got two techniques down along with him being better at Archery but he’s still a beginner, though he will hit more than miss compared to before.
> 
> Now a few people might complain about the Swordsman being a bit OP compared to Odolwa but the thing was that Jaune lucked out with Odolwa winning because that monster didn’t take him too seriously if you think about it. But he was also easier to hit than the Swordsman given how big he was.
> 
> Then we have Jaune trying to master his Magic, but he’s not making much headway there, though there was a hint of a technique he would learn in the future with using the magic to enhance his sword, but right now it would use up all of his magic in a split second due to his lack of control so it won’t be mastered for quite awhile. And it will be explained in a future chapter at how the Great Fairy of Clock Town knows about Hyrule/Remnant as well as some things that happened there despite being from Termina.
> 
> Finally yes it’s revealed that Tael is alive after a few chapters. I couldn’t picture Tatl putting it off forever, especially with everything that’s happened, I think it’s in her character to make sure after awhile.


	8. The Mystery of Snowhead Part 1

~** _Dawn of the Final Day~_ **

** _-Twenty-Four Hours Remain-_ **

Music could be heard out in the Fields of Termina as Jaune was laying on top of the hollow log, relaxing for once after quite a few cycles of training, the song he was playing was Saria’s Song.

Even before he found out that this song ended up saving his life it was always an energetic and soothing tune for him to play and he was just happy to be playing it once more, for once not worrying about the moon hanging overhead.

That’s not to say that everything was all fine and dandy, Jaune will admit that he’s been having some nightmares lately whenever he does go to sleep. Of failing Termina. Of dying here and never seeing home again.

Whether it’s to any of the monsters he already faced or to Skull Kid himself, Jaune dreamt of himself dying so many times already that there were times where he would be afraid to sleep. But he kept quiet about it, especially around Tatl who was slowly recovering ever since she found out Tael was brought back due to the Song of Time. It was with luck that she hasn’t noticed yet, probably because his nightmares didn’t make him react too violently and he would wake up before her.

He didn’t want to ruin her improved mood so he pushed it down, forcing a carefree smile on his face when around her and countless others in Clock Town because he needed to focus otherwise those nightmares will become reality.

Speaking of Tatl, Jaune could vaguely see her flying around, looking like she was looking around the fields to see if there was anything of interest that they could investigate, not being one to relax all that much. Though the way she was flying looked like she was idly dancing to the music without realizing it.

Still Jaune was really beginning to get antsy as he wanted to try and find the second temple soon, it’s been forever since his journey through Woodfall Temple, or it felt like it at least.

Jaune really lost sense of how long he’s been rewinding time but it’s helped so much with learning swordsmanship and his archery was a lot better then it used to be.

He tested his archery skills at the Shooting Range in Clock Town and actually got enough points there to win a prize that upgraded his quiver to hold a few more arrows, something he appreciated having for the future.

But his swordsmanship was easily his best deal given how he already mastered those two skills that the Swordsman taught him.

Jaune hasn’t gone for anymore as he’s been gaining more experience fighting monsters, working on his stamina to where he could fight for quite awhile without resting now compared to before.

If his family saw him now they would be amazed by how different he was from when he left home. He had muscles that were toned from his training, skills to keep alive and he was versatile with his fighting style.

But he needed to get even better, Jaune knew he couldn't afford to make any risky mistakes. However how could he tell when he was ready if he didn’t risk it?

“Tatl,” Jaune called out, pausing from playing the Ocarina causing the fairy to give him a glance. “Next Cycle what do you think about checking the Mountain?”

That caught Tatl off guard, the fairy now flying right in front of Jaune, coming to a stop right in his face. “Are you sure?” She asked knowing that while they had to do it eventually, she didn’t think they would be going anytime soon.

“Yeah, we’ve been putting it off long enough.” Jaune said with an eager grin, clearly wanting to make some more progress. “Any idea what to expect?”

Tatl hummed in thought while Jaune put his Ocarina away. “I’ve never been up the Mountains but I do know that the Goron’s live there.” She said with Jaune tilting his head.

The Gorons, now there was something he did end up studying considering that was bothering him during his first cycle when the Guard made that sarcastic remark.

Gorons were a humanoid race with rock-like skin that could tower over most people that live in mountains with their basic diet being rocks. While they do sound a little intimidating at first, especially when you consider how they could punch through solid stone with little to no effort it was noted in the book that he read that Gorons were well known for their friendly, brotherly culture.

It was extremely rare for a Goron to be hostile to anyone unless given a reason and they had a love for sumo wrestling. But they were also very prideful to where they would refuse help from anyone but other Gorons even on the verge of death.

Jaune has actually seen a Goron before, one always came to Clock Town to stay at the Stock Pot Inn on the first day, so he knew what they looked like.

“You think the Goron’s know anything about where the temple in the Mountains is?” Jaune asked curiously.

It was something to keep in mind, considering how the Deku’s knew where Woodfall Temple was.

“More than likely, hopefully they’re not feeling too prideful to share that with us.” Tatl mused sounding worried.

“It’ll be fine.” Jaune said confidently, already making a plan on how to traverse the mountain.

~** _Dawn of the First Day~_ **

** _-Seventy-Two Hours Remain-_ **

Jaune exited Clock Town from the North Gate, wearing a newly bought blue cloak that was tied around his neck and some new gloves.

While doing some last minute prep with getting some arrows and bombs, Jaune heard some talk about a strange blizzard going on through the mountains.

It was strange because a lot of Terminans were saying that it was supposed to be warm due to the time of year which led Jaune to believe that the blizzard was probably a result of the temple they were looking for like how the Woodfall Temple made the Swamp Poisonous.

So he took the extra time to get some warm clothing to make going through the mountain easier, especially when he found a winter cloak for sale that was infused with magic to keep him from getting frostbite, but he was warned not to wear this anywhere except for cold places unless he wanted to risk heat stroke.

Making sure the cloak was on nice and tight, Jaune began to trek towards the Mountain, seeing ice blocking the road up there from where he was.

“Going to have to do something about that-,” Jaune paused as he saw a rather large icicle right above it. “Bingo.”

“You have an idea?” Tatl asked with Jaune nodding taking a few steps back while pulling his bow out.

It only took two shots from his arrows to have the icicle crash into the ice blockade, shattering it.

Grinning, Jaune began to climb up the mountain.

* * *

“I am so glad that I decided to buy this cloak!” Jaune shouted over the roaring blizzard as he slowly pushed against it, the snow being up to his knees at this point, his cloak flapping back a bit, barely staying on.

Even with it he was shivering a bit, that showed how bad this would’ve been if he came up here without it.

Tatl was taking cover in Jaune’s hoodie to keep from being separated, the two sharing some body warmth.

“Just be careful with the shouting, the last thing we need is an avalanche.” Tatl warned with Jaune cursing from how he didn’t think about that.

He already had to deal with crab-like creatures called Tekites on his climb up there as they’ve taken to hiding within the snow, an avalanche would just add to his troubles.

He was lucky that the large snow boulders he blew up with a bomb earlier didn’t cause an avalanche now that he thought about it.

“Why did it have to be a blizzard?” Jaune muttered to himself, climbing up a rather steep hill, having to use his gloved hands to grasp a rock that was in the snow, nearly slipping from how slick it was. “Out of all the problems it would cause it had to be this.”

He officially hates the cold.

“You know with all of your complaining I bet I could’ve just flown up there by the time you reached this point.” Tatl voiced and Jaune chuckled as he recognized the teasing tone.

To think that they were friendly enough with each other to tease one another in a playful way rather than a rude way like when it first started out. He enjoyed the banter at times.

“Oh really and what about the temple?” Jaune asked with a quirked brow despite how Tatl wouldn’t see it. “I’m the one that does the fighting.”

“I would use my wit to leave the monsters vulnerable.” Tatl answered just as easily and that succeeded in making Jaune laugh.

“That you would.”

Eventually however Jaune came across a sign that he had to wipe snow off of to read and he couldn’t be any more relieved at what it said.

‘** _Mountain Village ahead. Beware of blizzards and deep snow. Gorons should be able to break the snow boulders easily._ **’

“Finally.” Jaune whispered, happy to see that there was a village close by.

He needed to get out of this cold. Hopefully there was an Owl Statue in this village so he could avoid having to climb all the way back up.

“Hey Tatl, you said that Odolwa was well known in Woodfall right?” Jaune asked as they continued onward with Tatl giving a nod. “Do you by chance know what might be in the other three?”

Tatl hesitated, unsure if she does or not. “Odolwa was a complete surprise for both of us because I always thought he was nothing more than a story,” She admitted, adjusting where she was sitting in Jaune’s hair. “But considering he turned out to be real, I think we’re going to have to expect the others.”

Jaune kept quiet, waiting for her to continue, nearly losing his footing on a slick piece of snow before he kept moving.

“If I remember correctly, the one who nearly destroyed Snowhead Mountain in the legends was Goht.”

“Goat?” Jaune asked in disbelief.

“No Goht, replace the a with an h.” Tatl elaborated to him. “Though it doesn’t really matter as he’s a giant mechanical Goat, but he was still pretty powerful.”

Jaune found that weird but he was happy to know what they might be facing for this temple.

“I’ll ask about the other two later, right now we should just focus on this Goht.

Jaune held a relieved look when the Mountain Village came within sight.

Only for it to drop as he saw this village was only one cabin in the middle of a blizzard… At least he could see an Owl Statue.

“You think that whoever is in there will give us a hand?” Jaune asked hopefully while Tatl flew out of the hood to read the sign in front of the house.

“Mountain Smithy ahead. We sharpen any sword. We work hard so your sword works hard for you.” Tatl read with Jaune blinking.

“So it’s a sword smith?”

As he said that, Jaune glanced at his sword that was still at his hip, it was visible due to the wind blowing the cloak back.

While this sword has got him through some tough spots in Termina along with being the pride and joy of the Arc family for many generations, he did feel that it was lacking a bit.

Back in Remnant every weapon was a gun, yet his was just a plain sword. Not that it’s not useful but it was long overdue for an upgrade. And in his situation any upgrade would do.

Hopefully his family will understand once he’s back in Remnant.

“We could get more out of this than directions.” Tatl suggested glancing at Jaune. “Do you have any rupees on you?”

“I always make sure to grab the hidden silver ones we found whenever we restart.” Jaune commented as he had about three silver rupees making it a total of three hundred at this moment. “Think it’ll be enough?”

“More than enough.” Tatl stated with a nod.

Smiling a bit, Jaune opened the door to head inside thinking that if it was a shop then it was fine to enter.

It was a relief to be out of the cold, though the cabin didn’t keep it all out but it was better than nothing.

Glancing around the cabin, Jaune noted that the floor went a few feet before it reached a counter with a few boxes to the side making it look like someone was trying to pack before giving it up as a lost cause.

There was also a massive hearth where the swordwork would be done except it was trapped in a massive block of ice showing why it wasn’t as warm as it should be in here along with a desk that had papers scattered around it.

Next to the desk was a small green couch that had a person sleeping on it. This person was covered by a rather thick blanket, no doubt doing his best to keep warm.

“I think we’re trespassing.” Jaune whispered as it was obvious that this place wasn’t open for business.

Tatl groaned a bit. “The door was unlocked though.”

Deciding to come back later, they were about to leave when an unnatural deep voice stopped them. “Ugogh! Ugor ugoh ughor?”

Not knowing what type of gibberish was being said, both Jaune and Tatl turned towards the voice only for the former to step back in slight fear at seeing a massive form of a humanoid figure with ghastly white skin showing a lot of muscles, wearing nothing but a pair of undergarments, gloves and boots with an iron mask keeping its face hidden.

Jaune was a second away from drawing his sword as he eyed the massive hammer it was carrying when the sleeping man woke up with a groan. “Shaddup! Man just when I was having a good dream,” He shouted to the giant who grumbled incoherently. “I heard you the first ti-wait customers?”

As if a switch was flipped the guy kicked the covers off with a smile on his face, his brown beard a bit unkempt and he wore a white cap over his hair along with a pair of blue overalls.

“Welcome to the Mountain Smithy, where we take our time to make a good point,” The man greeted smiling at his first customers in a long time. “I am Zubora, the owner. Pleased to meet you!”

“Ugo-oh!” The giant roared glancing at Zubora. “Ugo ugo!”

“Shaddup over there!” Zubora shouted at the giant with Jaune amazed he wasn’t hit by said giant before the man glanced back at Jaune and Tatl.

“Um I’m guessing the big guy is your friend?” Tatl asked unnerved by the guy.

Zubora was still smiling at that question. “That huge fellow is my assistant Gabora. He’s all brawn and about as smart as a Deku Stick.” He explained before getting to the point. “Say did you come to have your sword sharpened?”

“If it’s not too much trouble.” Jaune said, pulling his sword out to show Zubora who glanced at it.

“I see, normally it wouldn’t be but we’re not doing any business right now due to the cold snap.” Zubora pointed to the hearth. “If it was melted we would really be working on your sword, speaking of which, how long have you had it?”

“It’s been in my family for a long time, my Great-Great Grandfather used it.” Jaune explained, surprising Tatl who didn’t know that the sword was a family heirloom.

“Interesting, your sword while it’s losing its sharpness is in good condition despite its age,” Zubora noted holding his hand out with Jaune getting the message as he handed the man his sword. “Your family has taken very good care of this blade.”

Jaune smiled at that given how he’s had it for awhile and this showed he took care of his-... Wait no he hasn’t sharpened it before.

He hasn’t even cleaned it before.

The only reason it’s been in good condition despite him using it was because of how time restarted.

Jaune looked at the sword with regret in his eyes as he thought about that.

A true swordsman should always take care of his sword and he hasn’t done that.

… He’ll do better.

“Sadly it lost a lot of its edge long before you were born,” Zubora stated, taking Jaune by surprise. “If we could work on it we would’ve tried to restore it to its former glory. If only we could do something about that frozen hearth-.”

“Ugo-oh! Ugo, ugo!” Gabora cried out making Zubora frown at the man.

“Eh, what’s that? If we had hot water we could melt it off?” Zubora asked with a scoff. “Don’t act like you know what you’re talking about you big Deku Stick!”

“Hot water?” Tatl asked latching onto that while Jaune smiled.

Hot water sounds like heaven right now-he really needs a shower instead of using whatever he could get for personal hygiene.

“Oh don’t listen to him, he believes a rumor that says there’s a Hot Spring somewhere in the mountains here.” Zubora rolled his eyes as Gabora glared at him. “Bah, I don’t believe such rubbish.”

“Well if by chance we do find this Spring, I do have a bottle to carry it here,” Jaune suggested to the man. “Would you be able to sharpen my sword if I do that?”

Zubora crossed his arms in thought before giving a nod. “On the off chance that you do we’ll sharpen it for free, however if you happen across some Gold Dust we can use that to make your sword so powerful it will withstand the test of time and never lose its edge.”

That made Jaune’s eyes widen as he made a promise to himself to keep an eye out for this Gold Dust.

* * *

“What the dust?” Jaune asked, a bit baffled by what he was seeing.

He didn’t really make it that far from the Smithy, having taken out at least three different Wolfos who had snowy white fur in the Mountains.

“Oh great, it’s him.” Tatl muttered seeing what he was looking at. “Just look away and don’t make eye contact.”

“Who is that?” Jaune asked not sure why a man was wearing green spandex flying on a balloon.

“That’s Tingle, he’s… Very unusual,” Jaune could tell that Tatl was trying to find a nice way to put it. “He’s not bad, his maps of Termina are pretty good but he’s obsessed with fairies.”

That made Jaune give Tatl a cautious look. “How obsessed are we talking about?”

… He was debating whether or not to shoot the balloon so he could see about buying one of those maps that Tatl mentioned if they’re that good.

“He’s in his thirties and he’s trying to become a fairy.” Tatl deadpanned with Jaune blinking before deciding that he didn’t want to deal with that.

“Okay no map is worth that.” Jaune decided pretending he didn’t see the man, Tatl taking cover in his cloak to hide from Tingle.

“Oh thank the Goddess.” Tatl muttered after they passed him and went through a tunnel that led to what looked to be a village with the buildings going underground.

Looking around, Jaune saw a Goron shivering in the cold. “Hey you alright?” He called out to the shivering rock.

“It’s cold,” The Goron answered as if that was obvious. “Being the gatekeeper in this cold is h-h-hard.”

“Gatekeeper?” Jaune asked with Tatl ringing next to him. “What?”

“This is Goron Village!”

“Oh? Do you want to enter the village?” The Goron asked with both Jaune and Tatl nodding.

“Then I’ll open the door with a Goron Pound,” The Goron tensed as he got ready. “Just be sure to rush because I’ll have to close the door to prevent the cold from getting in.”

With that said the Goron curled up, launching himself into the air to slam into the ground and Jaune could see a stone door opening in response, leaving him to wonder how that even worked.

So thinking quickly Jaune pulled the Bunny Hood to put on and rushed through before the door could close, his relief at the warmer air turned to annoyance as a high pitched whining echoed around the place with him placing his hands over his ears.

He wasn’t the only one as Jaune could see countless other Gorons trying to keep the noise out with their hands over their heads.

“Someone shut whoever is crying up!” Tatl snapped and Jaune was pretty sure that beneath her light she was probably covering her ears-.

… What does Tatl even look like without the light?

He’ll have to ask that at some point.

Moving past the Gorons, Jaune could hear one of them wishing that someone would do something about this and he sighed.

Given his track record with going to new places he’ll end up being the person to do this something wouldn’t he?

It wasn’t that hard to find the source of the crying after climbing a slope to a back room where a Goron Baby sat in a crib with two attendants already giving up on trying to appease the baby and were curled up hoping to block out the sound.

“If I was ever this bad I owe my parents an apology.” Jaune couldn’t help but say as this crying was definitely getting quite annoying at this point.

Making it to the baby, Jaune could hear some words through the crying. “Waaah… Henh, uwaaaaah… Daaaaaaaaaady, H-hunh… I’m cold.”

“His Dad?” Jaune asked, not hearing an answer from Tatl who began to wrap the ends of his cloak around her to block out the sound.

“We’re at our wits end,” One of the Goron Attendants said, uncurling to see him there, not that bothered about seeing a Terminan in front of the crying baby. “The Elder went to Snowhead and doesn’t seem to be coming back. Now his son is so lonely that he won’t stop crying.”

“I see.” Jaune felt pity for the baby now understanding the situation.

So if he finds the elder then the baby will stop crying and he might get information on where to find the next Temple.

* * *

“How exactly do you expect to find an elderly Goron in the middle of all this?!” Tatl couldn’t help but ask with the two now back in the snow storm.

“Hopefully the same way we found Koume,” Jaune easily answered back. “If we don’t find him this cycle we’ll try again and hopefully arrive to cut him off if he leaves early in the morning.”

“So until then we’re blindly going through a blizzard.” Tatl groaned already seeing the flaws in that plan before a new but familiar voice interrupted them.

“That’s one way to do it but many problems have multiple solutions.”

Turning towards the voice, both Jaune and Tatl were pleasantly surprised to see the Owl from the swamp looking right at them.

“It’s been quite awhile since we last saw each other,” The Owl commented, those choice of words making Jaune adopt a shocked look. “I do hope you’re prepared for this next temple.”

Tatl was the one who got over the surprise first. “We went back in time after meeting you, how do you remember us?!”

“Even though we are all affected by the passage of time, reverse or forward the ancient spirits are not,” The Owl explained to the fairy. “The Guardian of Woodfall kept me updated.”

“Wait if he’s still free then why is the Swamp still poisonous?” Jaune couldn’t help but ask.

Surely this Guardian would’ve purified it without him.

“It’s necessary to keep the masked Imp from investigating, though it hasn’t stopped him from keeping the Great Fairy of Wisdom put together to help him out.”

Okay that made a lot of sense right there but it was good to know that the Giant was still free and the Great Fairy wasn’t shattered.

“You said multiple solutions, do you have one?” Jaune looked at the Owl who rotated his head to show amusement, especially with how Jaune no longer looked unnerved by it.

“Exactly what I said, it’s good to see that you hold the power to change the fate of this land,” The Owl gave a chuckle once more being reminded of a certain boy in green. “It’s chosen well.”

Both Jaune and Tatl were even more confused by that but the Owl continued before they could voice their confusion.

“But the road ahead is filled with even more challenges than what you’ve experienced, please watch over these Gorons around you,” The Owl gave the village a forlorn look knowing he couldn’t directly intervene at the moment. “Their land is doomed to be smothered in snow and ice forever. It will become a land where no living thing can survive.”

The more he was hearing the more Jaune wanted to save them despite how much like the Deku’s it would all be undone.

“Without ‘_ courage _’ and determination, you will surely collapse from the extreme conditions,” The Owl seemed to put a lot of emphasis into the word courage making Jaune frown with uncertainty. “But if that courage and determination burns bright within you, then that’s another story. So will you proceed?”

Courage?

Jaune knew at this point that he wasn’t brave.

All of this started because he wanted to go to Huntsmen and be a hero like from those old Fairy Tales. Be a Knight in Shining Armor who got a happy ending.

It was naive to think like that, he knew better now that he wasn’t a hero like that, a true hero would’ve been able to finish this by now.

He was scared, terrified of what was going on and Jaune had a feeling that this Owl knew that.

But his feelings didn’t matter right now and he remembered how despite all the odds against him he did manage to purify the swamp to free one of the Giants and put the Great Fairy back together so he took a deep breath.

“Yes.” Jaune said looking up at the Owl with a narrowed gaze. “You can ask that a hundred times and I will give the same answer, someone has to stop Skull Kid.”

The Owl rotated his head back upright and gave Jaune a searching look before nodding. “This land has certainly changed you Mister Arc,” He acknowledged seeing how different Jaune was from the last time they met. “You are a young man of many strengths, perhaps you do have the strength to change the fate of this mountain after all?”

The Owl then turned from Jaune towards what seemed to be a floating cave in the distance bringing Jaune’s attention towards it.

“I shall take to the air now, flying towards that shrine across the way, so follow behind me,” The Owl said, earning wary looks from the two as only Tatl could fly making the Owl laugh. “Don’t be daunted by appearances. Instead, let your true feelings guide you and the true path shall open before you.”

With that he took to the air and Jaune understandably hesitated before he saw something strange.

The Owl seemed to be leaving a trail of feathers that were clearly laying on something in the air.

Don’t be daunted by appearances. Now it made sense.

“Jaune?” Tatl spoke up as Jaune tensed. “What are you-?”

She never finished as Jaune straight up leapt off of the freaking cliff holding back a scream before his feet slid on something solid beneath him.

Something he couldn’t see.

‘_ Of course, an invisible path. _’ Jaune realized now seeing why the Owl was leaving a trail of feathers.

It was to guide him without letting him fall to his death.

With that in mind as Tatl was quiet out of surprise, Jaune leapt from one feather to the next, sliding a bit showing how the path was pretty slick before he made it to the cave.

“Jaune, don’t do something like that without warning me.” Tatl told him, given how she nearly had a heart attack from him leaping off the side of a mountain.

On hearing that, Jaune gave a low chuckle. “I’ll try but I can’t promise anything with how this is going.” He said feeling the adrenaline slowly disappearing as he wanted to catch his breath.

“Hoo-Hoot! You have certainly shown your courage and determination there,” The Owl sounded remarkably proud of Jaune. “From here on you must not be fooled by appearances. You must rely on your feelings to guide you.”

“So see with my heart not with my eyes?” Jaune asked with the Owl giving a nod. “Thank you uh-.”

“Hoo-Hoo that’s right I never did give you my name last time, I am Kaepora.” The Owl finally gave his name with Jaune smiling at the Owl in appreciation. “Now enter this shrine, inside is an item that will aid you in your quest. Use that item to return from here.”

With that said the Owl took off flying while Jaune stood up and entered the shrine, Tatl making her light brighter.

Jaune was surprised to see a lone chest in the middle of the cave room, enough to where he was wary in approaching it, hand on sword but it seemed to be unwarranted before he opened it to find quite a strange item.

It was a rather large purple magnifying glass with a tinted lens, three red spikes were perched on the top of the magnifying glass.

“How is this supposed to help?” Jaune muttered looking through it as he turned towards Tatl only to freeze.

“Hm? What is it-?” Tatl asked only to duck as Jaune swung his sword towards her. “What are you-?!”

Her question was cut off as Jaune’s sword made contact with a Skulltula that was about to eat her, the hit making it visible to the naked eye as it died.

Now very wary and seeing how useful this was, Jaune began to look around to see if there were any more invisible enemies while Tatl was understandably a bit shook up.

“Invisible Skulltulas, sure why not?” Tatl muttered to herself shaking. “As if they weren’t terrifying enough already.”

“Sorry for not warning you, there wasn’t any time.” Jaune apologized to Tatl considering he did just swing his sword at the fairy to get the Skulltula behind her.

“It’s fine, just tell me to duck next time.” Tatl suggested with Jaune giving a sheepish smile. “Anyways I think I know what that is.”

“Oh?” Jaune asked, holding the item.

“It’s the Lens of Truth, a magic artifact that allows for people to see through illusions.” Tatl explained with Jaune finding that very useful. “It can even show things that were turned invisible by magic.”

Upon exiting the cave, Jaune used the lens to see floating blocks of ice where the feathers used to be and understood now why it was so slick.

He’ll have to thank Kaepora for helping him get this item whenever he sees the Owl again.

Kaepora, Tatl, the Great Fairy.

He might be stuck in this nightmare world but it’s great to see that he has allies to help him through this.

Taking the time to get back, Jaune smiled and went to walk off in search of the Goron Elder only to freeze, figuratively, at what he was seeing.

Floating in front of him was what appeared to be a Goron that was grey with quite the large scar on his stomach and a necklace of pearls around his neck.

“Jaune?” Tatl thought he saw another illusion and flew to look through only to nearly fall in shock. “W-What?”

Tatl’s voice made the Goron look towards them, his eyes widening when he saw that they were looking straight at him. “You… You can see me?” He asked, his voice echoing in their minds.

“K-Kind of hard not to,” Jaune said looking over the lens to see that nothing was there but looking through it he saw instead of legs this Goron had a wisp of a tail, almost like-. “Oh Dust you’re a Ghost.”

The figure gave a nod not wanting to waste this opportunity now that someone could see him. “Please follow me.”

While he floated off, Jaune looked at Tatl. “Should we?” He whispered with hesitation in his eyes.

Seeing Ghosts was something he thought would never happen, just when he thought this world wouldn’t be able to surprise him anymore.

“It could lead us to the temple.” Tatl suggested with Jaune nodding in acceptance.

Quickly glancing up, Jaune saw that it was close to three in the Afternoon, so he quickly took off after the Ghost.

* * *

It ended up leading Jaune back to the Mountain where the ghost flew past a small lake and up a wall that Jaune was surprised to see a trail of grabbable surfaces through the lens, it seemed that the snow covered it.

Unsure of how to climb this without turning the lens off, Jaune came up with an idea.

Moments later he was climbing with his hood up, Tatl inside of it doing her best to hold the Lens in place as it could be seen beneath the hood instead of his face.

It was the only way he could think of to keep it on to see the places to grab without sacrificing a hand, though he could hear Tatl struggling to keep hold of it.

“You okay Tatl?” Jaune asked right as a gust of wind made the Winter Cloak flap in the wind, nearly making Jaune let go to grab it considering with it flapping the cold was starting to get in.

“J-J-Just fine.” Tatl managed to get out her teeth chattering. “Are we nearly there?”

“In another minute or so we should reach the top.” Jaune answered knowing that she was reaching her limit with holding onto the Lens. “Just hold on.”

“W-What do you think I’ve b-been doing?”

Well it seems that she was still witty despite the strain.

He did nearly lose his grip a few times, but eventually Jaune made it to the top which was a relief to his sore fingers given how he’s never really climbed a mountain like that before.

Tatl was even more relieved with how she flew out while he pulled his hood down to grab the Lens to keep it from falling.

He could see a pair of Gorons near a cave where the ghost most likely went into, though he held a concerned look when he saw one of the Gorons was frozen in a thing of ice.

Despite wanting to help them, Jaune walked into the cave to see that it was some sort of Graveyard with the ghost hovering in front of it.

“The Soaring one said that the one who could see me would be arriving soon,” The Ghost commented looking from the grave that was most likely his towards Jaune. “It seems that it turned out to be true. I am Darmani the Third. The blood of proud Goron heroes runs in me.”

Jaune couldn’t help but get a little starry-eyed at seeing a ‘hero’ even if it was a Ghost.

“This feels strange for me to say, but when I was alive, I was a renowned warrior and veteran,” Darmani looked down and slammed his fist into the tombstone behind him only for his ethereal hand to go right through it. “Yes… When I was alive.”

“How did you die?” Jaune asked not sure what to expect but Tatl looked at him. “What?”

“Don’t you think that’s rude to ask a Ghost how he died?”

… She had a point.

Darmani smiled a bit, not too bothered by that. “It’s a fair question, don’t be too hard on him,” He said to the fairy before he closed his eyes. “Alas I died, I attempted to head towards the Snowhead Temple to vanquish the evil in there only to have the blizzard blast me off the mountain.”

‘_ He knows where the temple is. _’ Jaune thought with wide eyes but he grimaced at hearing how he died.

A warrior didn’t die in battle or take enemies with him, but was blown off the mountain by a blizzard before he had a chance to help his people.

“As I am, I can only watch as Goron Village is slowly buried in ice, I may have died but I can’t rest,” The Goron looked up at Jaune with pleading eyes. “The soaring one said that you had strange magic, please use it to bring me back to life.”

Jaune took a step back in shock.

He could barely control his magic, but bringing a spirit back to life?

He didn’t even begin to know how he could do that.

Tatl decided to answer for him. “I’m sorry Darmani but I don’t think we can help you there.” She said softly feeling sorrow for the spirit that won’t rest.

“Very well,” Darmani closed his eyes, not wanting to show his sadness at hearing that. “If bringing me back is beyond you then please at least heal my sorrows in any way that you can.”

“Heal?” Jaune paused at remembering the song that turned him back to Human along with healing that dancer back during one of his first few cycles.

Now knowing what to do, Jaune pulled the Ocarina out and began to play the Song of Healing.

As he played the wind from outside began to blow through the cave the soothing notes combining with the howls of the wind adding to the ethereal quality as Darmani paused at hearing the song breaking its way into his soul.

“What a soothing melody…” Darmani whispered now holding his head as he began to feel strange. “My sorrows are melting away within this strange song.”

In his mind as the Song of Healing was being played in the background, Darmani found himself surrounded by countless Gorons who began to cheer his name, his mind looking back to better days where he was proud and of how he kept hope alive within his tribe.

Just hearing them call his name was enough for Darmani to break down as tears began to streak down his stone face with him falling to his knees wanting to do more to help his people through this troubled time before Jaune’s face flashed through his mind reminding him of who was helping him heal his soul.

So with a determined look, Darmani gave a war cry as he held his hand up, using the last of his strength before he passed on to give the boy some of his power.

The strength to save his people.

Back with Jaune he stopped playing as the ghost was replaced with a mask that held a Goron face before it clattered onto the floor with him picking it up.

“I leave my undying feelings with you,” Darmani’s voice floated through the last of the wind before it died down. “The deeds I accomplished while living are carved on my grave, you should read it. Please save my village.”

Jaune gave a nod looking at the Goron Mask. “I promise I’ll use your power to save this Mountain.” He said whispering to the departing spirit and he swore he heard a ‘Thank you’.

“You alright Jaune?” Tatl asked, seeing tears running down Jaune’s cheeks.

Sniffling a bit, Jaune gave a nod as while he played the Song of Healing he ended up on the receiving end of Darmani’s thoughts and feelings before he passed on.

The sorrow, the pride, the joy and even in his last moments the hope he felt.

Darmani was entrusting him of all people to save the Mountain and Jaune tightened his grip on the mask with a determined look as he placed it on his face, hunching over in pain when the mask latched to his face the soul of Darmani intertwining with his own before he screamed out right as a flash of light erupted from him.

Standing in Jaune’s place was indeed a Goron who had white hair and blue eyes with armored gauntlets and boots, a black kilt around his waist along with a black cloak on his shoulders with the hood pulled up to hide his face, blue orbs of a necklace were around his neck with a Goron Tribe symbol tattooed on both arms.

Pushing himself up, Jaune blinked and looked over his new body in surprise as a new feeling came over him.

Pride of his own strength, anger at whatever was causing the blizzard and determination to stop it.

Darmani’s feelings intertwined with his own, making him more determined than ever to put a stop to Skull Kid.

“It’s terrifying to hear you scream like that.” Tatl commented counting this as the second time Jaune was in pain for a transformation.

“I don’t like it any better than you,” Jaune said in a deep baritone of a voice that was a lot more mature than his was. “But you have to admit this form will have a lot of uses.”

Turning towards the tombstone, Jaune blinked at seeing the symbols on the grave that he could understand perfectly despite being sure that he’s never seen them before.

Must be more of Darmani helping him out.

It spoke of how Gorons could roll with their eyes closed giving a sonar-like sensation to help tell where to go and how Magic Using Gorons could emit spikes while being surrounded by fire.

Okay that sounds extremely useful.

About to move on, Jaune stilled as more of Darmani’s memories went through him and his eyes widened before he punched the grave much to Tatl’s shock. “Jaune what are you-,” She began only for water to fill the area now that the grave wasn’t in the way. “Doing?”

The air began to heat up as steam formed around them showing that the Hot Spring Water was beneath Darmani’s grave.

So he pulled a bottle of water out to put some of it in with a plan to hand it to the Swordsmith.

Then it was off to find out more about the Temple.

** _To Be Continued..._ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally getting back to the main story with Jaune exploring Snowhead Temple and man did he get a lot of goodies such as the Goron Mask and the Lens of Truth.
> 
> But I bet him getting what I dub the ‘Winter Cloak’ was quite a surprise-I felt that it would be cool to make my own item for a LOZ adventure and given how Jaune was heading towards the mountain having a cloak like that would be a godsend as while it was fine in a video game to go in just a green tunic it was not smart to actually do so.
> 
> It’s like the Goron Tunic you get in OoT which kept you cooled down only this cloak keeps you warm enough to prevent frostbite, though wearing it elsewhere would risk the chance of heat stroke.
> 
> Also it’s my way of showing you that Jaune will get some different weapons in Termina as well as some of what Link got


	9. The Mystery of Snowhead Part 2

** _~Night of the First Day~_ **

** _-Sixty Hours Remain-_ **

“Kid I don’t know how you did it,” Zubora began as Gabora was working on Crocea Mors in the background, the heat inside of the Smithy feeling like heaven to Jaune right now who was back to being Human at the moment. “But we owe you big time.”

“Just got lucky.” Jaune said grinning from ear to ear, not saying a word on how he found out.

Zubora probably won’t believe him anyways.

“Luck like that must be a boon,” Zubora commented with a laugh. “You might want to try the Lottery in Clock Town.”

“Ugoh!” Gabora called out, making the Smithy roll his eyes.

“Yes I was wrong, you were right about the Hot Spring water.” Zubora admitted only to grumble as Gabora held out a hand making the man place three purple rupees in it.

“You made a bet on whether or not we would find the Hot Water?” Tatl dryly asked, making Zubora chuckle nervously.

“Sorry but I thought it would’ve been easy money given how no one else found the water.” Zubora admitted with a shrug. “Truth be told I figured you would’ve given up when you factor the blizzard in.”

Jaune decided not to say anything about that, instead he asked a different question. “So how long would this take?” He asked gesturing to his sword and shield as they were his main weapon in a fight.

“We should be finished by tomorrow.” Zubora grinned at the prospect of the two of them continuing their work before frowning. “Gabora you’re hitting it wrong, do you want to damage that weapon?!”

Gabora snarled a bit while Zubora walked over to help his apprentice out.

Taking that as their cue, Jaune and Tatl left the Smithy only to shiver as it was colder at night. “Alright, that’s out of the way, now we just need to find the Temple.”

“There’s nothing to do but search for the Elder.” Jaune pulled out the Goron mask to put on.

At least as a Goron, he’s more than capable of being out in the cold for a much longer period of time… Well that and he wanted to get the movement of being a Goron down.

“Hey I have to ask, how does it feel changing species like that?” Tatl was pretty curious given how Jaune was the only known person to be able to change that part of him.

Taking the time to think as they walked, Jaune answered. “It feels strange, I mean I’m still me but it’s like there’s someone else in here, for both forms.” He thought about how he acted differently as a Scrub, and he knew he would act a little different as a Goron, but he didn’t know how different. “Mind you at least this one can actually talk.”

Sure he was much better at talking as a Scrub but it would’ve been a pain to relearn how to talk a second time here. Hey at least there were some form of muscle memory with fighting and moving like a Goron due to this being an adult form.

Tatl completely agreed with Jaune on that one as they were back near the Goron Village where a Wolfos came out to lunge at Jaune who acted on pure instinct that must’ve come from Darmani.

Instead of jumping back, most likely because he was currently too heavy to fight like he was used to, Jaune grabbed the Wolfos by the throat, choke slamming him to the ground where he punched with enough force to leave a crater, squishing the Wolfos head as it burst into flames.

“Holy-remind me not to piss you off.” Tatl couldn’t help but say as people always forgot how strong Gorons were due to their nature.

Jaune however stared at his fist with a shocked look.

He just punched a crater into the ground… Note to self train this form extensively because it would really help him out.

Seeing some snow boulders blocking his way, Jaune grinned and cracked his knuckles before going to punch them. It was almost therapeutic to see them shatter showing that he no longer needed to waste his bombs to blow them out of the way.

Plus it was fun to see his punches break them apart.

Eventually however as he punched more snow boulders, Jaune was surprised to see an extremely old Goron encased in ice with him barely stopping his punch from hitting it.

This had to be the Elder he was looking for.

“Okay we found him, so now we’ll need to get him out of the ice.” Tatl said while Jaune sighed with Tatl getting immediately what he was thinking. “Oh for the love of-, why couldn’t the Hot Water be on the ground instead of high in the mountain?”

“Nothing we can do about it, let’s just get it so we can free the elder.” Jaune said, turning back towards the village.

* * *

After some backtracking Jaune was back in front of the Elder Goron, pouring the Hot Water on the ice, melting it immediately as the Elder shivered for a second, unsure of what was going on. “Hunh? What was I doing?” He muttered his lower lip quivering from the cold before noticing Jaune who was still a Goron. “D-Darmani?!? But you’re supposed to be dead, am I hallucinating?!”

Jaune was unsure of how to feel about this as he didn’t want to impersonate a dead hero as that would be disrespectful, but thinking on it, he knew that people would always mistake him for Darmani around here so he rolled with it.

At least Tatl was hiding at the moment because if anyone saw her after she was seen with his Human form it would make people piece it together.

“No you’re not.” Jaune said, placing a gentle hand on the Elder’s shoulder. “Come on we need to get you back to the Village.”

“No, this must be some of Snowheads Magic Power,” The Elder was in denial of Darmani being alive again. “If I can see past this illusion then you’ll vanish in an instant.”

“... I’m touching your shoulder.” Jaune pointed out making the elder blink.

“Oh right.”

“I’m beginning to think this guy isn’t all there.” Tatl whispered with Jaune giving a nod.

Growing old does that sometimes.

“Doesn’t matter I need to head to Snowhead, I can’t bury my child.” The Elder quivered as he went to move towards where the Temple would be, only he was moving at a snail’s pace.

“Your child is scared because you’re not there,” Jaune said channeling some of Darmani as he glared at the elder. “You’re needed at the village, leave the Temple to me.”

“Illusion or no, you were unable to do anything, it’s a miracle that you’re here,” The Elder snapped at him. “I’m not putting our people through your death again.”

“If you go there you’ll die!”

“Then I’ll die to keep my son alive!” The Elder roared at him before cringing as something in his body cracked. “Ow!”

“Exactly my point.” Jaune said not backing down despite how he nearly jumped at how the Elder shouted at him.

It seemed that Darmani’s spirit made him pretty damn stubborn.

Letting his eyes soften a bit, Jaune gently lifted the Elder up despite his protests and began to carry him towards the Village.

“Put me down this instant Darmani!”

“I’m not letting you go on a fool's errand to die, put your pride away and be there for your son,” Jaune said in a harsh tone to ensure that the Elder understood. “You say that you don’t want to bury him, but do you think he’ll want to bury you?”

The Elder quieted down at that, enough to where he stopped struggling making Jaune’s task of carrying him much easier.

* * *

“Is that my son?” The Elder whispered as they made it to the Village after giving the Gatekeeper a bit of a heart attack of seeing ‘Darmani’, but he wasted no time in letting them in when he saw the Elder with him.

“It is, now come on.” Jaune said, still carrying the Elder.

But as he moved, he could hear awed whispers.

“D-Darmani? He’s alive?”

“No way I saw the body!”

“The Great Darmani has returned, praise to the Giants!”

“He even conquered death itself, amazing!”

Oh that’s going to take some getting used to. The fact that he’s literally wearing the skin of a dead hero was a little messed up but he had to bear with it.

Still whenever he restarts the cycle he isn’t wearing the Goron Mask around here.

Making it to the kid’s room, Jaune finally put the elder down who slowly wobbled towards his son who’s crying turned into sniffles at seeing him approach.

“D-D-Dad?” The baby Goron asked now hiccuping while the other Gorons inside of the Village heaved sighs of relief. “Y-Y-You came b-back!”

“Hush there, no need to cry young one.” The Elder whispered to his son, a tinge of guilt blossoming within him.

Reaching out he began to cradle his son before turning to Jaune.

“Darmani, would you mind playing that lullaby that I used to play for you when you were younger on your drums?” He requested with Jaune’s eyes widening.

Crap, how was he going to get out of this-?

Jaune felt light headed as some memories flashed through his head of Darmani’s younger years merging with his memories and on instinct he pulled his instrument out, the Ocarina turning into a set of Goron Drums that went across his stomach.

It was a quiet song going through a slow, soothing rhythm that he remembered as the Goron’s Lullaby, smiling at how the rhythm echoed all around the room giving off a peaceful vibe.

Once he finished the Baby Goron curled up in a ball, fast asleep with the Elder gently placing him in his crib, leaving for Jaune to leave the shrine only to find himself surrounded by various Gorons who were relieved that the infernal crying had stopped.

“It’s true, he is back!”

“Great to see ya Darmani!”

“I knew you couldn’t be dead!”

Their comments were doing nothing but making Jaune uncomfortable before he realized that they all looked hopeful and it clicked in his head.

Seeing the ‘Great Darmani’ being back instead of dead was making the Gorons cheerful because he was their beacon of hope. Their reason to keep going throughout this mess. No matter how uncomfortable this was making him, he didn’t have the heart to correct them.

So he steeled himself and looked on at the group of Gorons. “I’m sorry that I took so long to get back to you,” He apologized using the memories to act like Darmani. “While it is delayed I swear I will end this blizzard plaguing our lands once and for all!”

His declaration was met with even more cheers with the Goron’s chanting his-er Darmani’s name, showing that he said the right words.

So he was about to head off before the Elder exited the room, still moving slowly. “Hang on Darmani you’ll need your weapon first.”

Jaune gave the Elder a bewildered look, thankfully the Elder seemed to have missed it as a few of the Gorons in the crowd took off before coming back with a pedestal that held a weapon.

It was a rather large hammer with a metal shaft that held a solid steel hammer head, the Gorons presenting it to Jaune who was a little intimidated due to how the weapon was bigger than he was currently.

“We had it recovered after your death.” The Elder explained to Jaune who frowned with uncertainty before he grasped the handle, finding it familiar as he lifted it, barely able to do it with one hand showing how he couldn’t even hope to hold this in his Human Form with how heavy it was.

This was the Iron Hammer, Darmani’s main choice of weaponry.

Placing the hammer into his Gear Bag, Jaune gave a nod towards the Elder in thanks before heading out.

* * *

“I still say this is a terrible idea!” Tatl shouted over the winds while Jaune still as a Goron made his way towards the Snowhead Temple using Darmani’s memories to locate it after making sure to use the Song of Soaring to buy a Health Potion for his bottle. “At least wait until you have your sword back!”

She couldn’t understand why Jaune was adamant about heading in there without his main weapon, but he was acting very stubborn.

“I’m not waiting anymore, we need to end this!” Jaune answered with a snarl digging his feet into the ground to keep the wind from blowing him off, being thankful for the heavy weight this new form had.

“You don’t even know how to use that hammer!” Tatl protested not wanting a repeat of the fight with Odolwa.

Jaune just smirked as some Wolfos popped out, idly taking the Hammer out of his bag slamming it into the Wolfos, easily knocking them off the mountain before giving Tatl a quirked brow as if asking ‘you were saying?’

“Oh shut up.” Tatl grumbled at that leaving for Jaune to give a laugh.

It was rather unnerving to see Jaune act differently from what she was used to as while he was kind of a dork in his human form he was pretty nice to be around, but this form seemed to be no nonsense and was a bit arrogant.

Just like how the Deku version of him had this childish excitement showing whenever he saw some sights in Termina like-... His Deku Form acted just like how Skull Kid used to act before he got the mask.

Now realizing what was going on, Tatl knew how to talk some sense into Jaune. “Take off the mask!”

“Huh?” Jaune gave Tatl a confused look.

“I want to speak to the human you Jaune!”

“We don’t have time for this-.” Jaune protested but Tatl got in his face.

“You can literally turn back time, make it!”

Surprised by the exclamation, Jaune sighed and did so, the hammer seemingly disappearing like how Crocea Mors does when he did so, only for Jaune to shiver and try to wrap himself in his cloak, dropping the Goron Mask in the process.

“Okay now that you’re normal, how about we stop and think about what we’re doing.” Tatl said relieved that Jaune was back to normal.

Jaune blinked and looked at the mask that he dropped to see the Goron face looking right back at him and he was confused.

Yes he was in control, but now that he was normal he could already see the flaws in heading to Snowhead Temple right now.

Darmani’s personality completely controlled his line of thinking.

Picking the mask back up, Jaune put it up and smiled. “Thanks Tatl,” He said, happy to be back to normal with the fairy’s light brightening up to show that she was happy he was back. “But I have to agree with Darmani on this-.”

Just like that the shining light now burned with surprise and anger. “Are you serious?!?” She shouted flying close to his face making him take a step back. “You don’t even have your sword!”

“But I have my Bow, and Darmani’s form comes with muscle memory along with the masks, bombs and my other gear.” Jaune pointed out with Tatl backing up a little. “I’m not exactly defenseless and-.”

Tatl twitched as he trailed off. “And?” She pushed wanting to see what else was bothering him.

“Even though it would all be reversed I want to save them in this cycle,” Jaune answered looking down with his eyes closed. “After seeing everything I can’t just do nothing and wait. Even if I don’t have my sword I have to do something.”

After a few seconds of silence after his answer, Tatl sighed. “Why do you have to have a saving people problem.” She muttered with some shrewd playfulness, poking some fun at him with Jaune giving her an indigent look. “I swear if we die in there I’m going to kill you.”

Jaune grinned at that. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

* * *

Jaune felt like his teeth were chattering the further up the mountain he and Tatl went, the snow now being up to his thighs really slowing him down as he pushed on, his ears and cheeks were red due to the cold.

It was enough that he almost turned into Darmani to help bare with the cold, but he kept going, not wanting for his mindset to be changed unless he needed it.

“I think I lost feeling in my feet.” Jaune finally said after a few minutes of this numbing cold. “Too bad the cloak doesn’t extend that far down.”

“Honestly I don’t think it was made for blizzards this bad,” Tatl commented a little worried about what Jaune just said. “You need to warm up soon.”

“Yeah, but seriously who builds a temple this high up in the mountain?!” Jaune asked, barely refraining from shouting. “I swear if the Ocean one is at the bottom of the sea I might go crazy.”

“Knowing our luck so far it’s bound to be.”

The winds began to pick up, giving off a ghostly howl as it passed through the multiple peaks around them, giving a haunted feeling.

But they both felt relief as they finally made it.

The peaks of Snowhead where a narrow bridge went across what seemed to be a bottomless abyss towards another peak where a structure was carved.

There was no mistaking it, this was the Snowhead Temple and thankfully it wasn’t hidden like the Woodfall one was. And Jaune was extremely happy that there was an Owl Statue there as well in case he needed to reset the cycle.

“Finally, going up this place was a nightmare.” Tatl commented as she couldn’t fly outside of the cloak for more than a few seconds without freezing and she knew it was getting worse for Jaune.

An intense gust of wind erupted nearly knocking the two back with Jaune placing a hand in front of his face with a grimace before it stopped. “What was-?” Jaune began to ask only for it to begin again.

“Jaune, there’s something off about this.” Tatl noticed given how it stopped for a few seconds.

Frowning, Jaune waited until it happened a few more times before it clicked.

This blast of wind… It was as if someone was breathing.

Unsure of what to expect, Jaune pulled the Lens of Truth out thinking it would help and felt his jaw drop at the unexpected sight he saw through it.

The cause of this strange wind was a Goron that was as big as the freaking mountain sitting in front of the temple, a blank look on his face as the gusts of wind was his breath.

This was the cause of the unearthly howls coming up the mountain-.

No.

Jaune suddenly remembered how Darmani said that a blast of wind near the temple made him fall to his death and understood.

This… This Biggoron killed Darmani but looking at it he could see that its eyes were blank showing that he wasn’t in his right mind. Darmani was killed by one of his own who was in a trance, that’s just messed up right there.

“Okay how the hell are we going to get past this?” Tatl asked, seeing the problem while Jaune pulled out the Goron Mask thinking of how he got inside of the Woodfall Temple.

“I may have an idea.” Jaune commented placing it on and he stood there in his Goron Form, Darmani’s rage burning at seeing what killed him but Jaune barely managed to beat that feeling down and pulled out his instrument to play the Goron Lullaby with the drums echoing throughout the blizzard.

Eventually the blizzard began to halt, the Biggoron now visible due to the lack of wind and snow hiding it as he began to sway, his eyelids drooping before he curled up into a ball.

The peak was unable to hold him like that as he slowly tipped over and fell into the abyss.

“Is he-?” Jaune couldn’t help but ask, not expecting that but he sighed in relief when Tatl flew from side to side as if shaking her head.

“No he’ll survive,” She said simply knowing what Jaune was worried about. “A Goron that size will just feel a headache from a fall like that.”

Filing that away in his mind, Jaune began to walk across the narrow walkway towards the temple, determination coursing through him.

Heh, once he frees the Guardian Deity in this temple he’ll be halfway done with stopping Skull Kid so at least there was that to look forward to.

“Just need to climb this ramp and we’ll be inside of the temple.” Tatl’s voice was filled with relief before she noticed something. “Hm? Where does that cave lead to?”

Following where she was looking, Jaune frowned before memories surged through him. “According to Darmani’s memories, that leads to the Fairy Fountain.”

That was a good thing to know.

* * *

Upon entering the Temple, Jaune was immediately attacked by White Boes, they were the same as the black ones, only these ones were white because of the snowy environment.

Thinking quickly, Jaune put on the Deku Mask and spun around in a circle, easily killing them, a bit surprised that it worked considering how he was a Goron that put on the Deku Mask, said Goron Mask in his hand right now.

At least that showed he could switch between the two without having to turn back to Human.

“Vell dat wasn’t so tough.” Jaune commented with a smug look before shivering as his breath could be seen. “It’s still cold in here.”

“Mind you at least we’re out of that blizzard, you would already be getting brittle the way you are now.” Tatl commented with Jaune wincing at the image.

A brittle Deku out in the cold, now that was a terrifying thought.

Shaking that image out of his head, Jaune went to continue only see a giant block that was even bigger than the one he pushed in Woodfall blocking the way forward.

“Hm, this thing is kind of big, it’s definitely going to take more than your average strength to move it.” Tatl looked at Jaune. “Good thing you have a form that can make that easy.”

Getting the hint, Jaune swapped the Deku Form for his Goron Form as he easily pushed the block until it fell leading to another room that had three doors, one of them frozen with a block of ice.

“Awoo-.” The White Wolfos was cut off by Jaune just slamming the hammer into it with brute force, a casual smirk on his face turning to the two remaining doors to see one was locked while the other was unlocked.

“... You’re still you right?” Tatl asked seeing how Jaune went quiet.

“I am, just thinking on the plan of going through here,” Jaune admitted walking towards the unlocked door. “I think it might be smart to remain a Goron in here unless I need my bow, it’ll help keep us warm and this is a Goron Temple.”

“Yeah your Deku Form really came in handy in Woodfall,” Tatl agreed with Jaune easily opening the door only for both of them to be surprised at feeling heat come in. “Oh that feels so good right now!”

Jaune gave a low chuckle in agreement with the door closing behind them.

This room was definitely larger than the other two with two sides separated by a gap that could be crossed by a wooden bridge.

Walking towards the bridge, Jaune peeked over the edge to see bright, red magma showing that if they were to fall, it wouldn’t be pretty. But at least that explained the sudden heat.

“Jaune there’s a Stray Fairy!” Tatl brought his attention towards a pillar where it was encased in a bubble.

“Now that is lucky.” Jaune pulled the Goron Mask off to take out the Fairy Mask along with the Hero’s Bow.

He had a lot more confidence in his Archery Skills to hit the bubble without hitting the Fairy now.

Taking aim, Jaune let the arrow fly, piercing the bubble with him grinning widely.

Once the fairy was absorbed into the Fairy Mask, Jaune sighed as it told him that there were fourteen more around this temple.

Great, why couldn’t it be three or one stray fairy? It had to be fifteen.

Now glancing around the room on the sides near the bridge, Jaune could see quite a few ice sculptures there-they were breathing.

“Tatl what are those?” Jaune asked given how none of the books he read said anything about living ice sculptures.

“Those are Freezards, they can’t move except to turn so as long as you stay away from their icy breath you’re good.” Tatl advised with Jaune taking that into consideration as he saw that they kept their breath going across the bridge cutting off access, only stopping for a few seconds. “The only way across is the bridge, but ‘you’ won’t be able to make it due to how it’s broken in the middle as you are.”

Catching on due to how she was emphasizing ‘you’, Jaune knew how to get across, but he had to be careful of the Freezards to avoid being frozen.

Huh, he could see another stray fairy near one of the Freezards.

So he repeated what he did for the first fairy before putting the Goron Mask on, smirking as he will admit he’s been wanting to try this ever since he gained the ability to become a Goron.

Curling up into a ball, Jaune closed his eyes happy that he did study what Gorons could do given how when they roll around they have some sort of echolocation that allows for them to see where they were going.

Waiting until, the sounds of the Freezards stilled, Jaune quickly took off, rolling as magic coursed through him before spikes erupted from his body right as he shot across the bridge, coming to a stop when he rolled into a wall.

“Ooh,” Jaune grumbled to himself, burping a bit. “How do they not get sick?”

“Well Gorons do roll before they can walk so they’re used to it.” Tatl brought up with Jaune really hoping he would get used to it. “You need a minute?”

“No, can’t waste any time.” Jaune commented looking at the two different ways to go.

There was a doorway across a small gap he could easily jump across to his left, but there was also a set of stairs directly in front of him.

Jaune needed to find a map and compass for this temple as well as a way to get rid of the ice blocking that one door, hopefully he didn’t have to leave and get hot spring water to do so but it was an idea to consider if nothing else comes up.

Tatl looked back across the bridge in thought as she glanced down to the pit of lava. “Why is it that no matter what we have to worry for your life in these situations?” She asked with Jaune shrugging.

“I wish we didn’t have to worry, but it’s unavoidable.”

Taking the moment to take the Goron Mask off, Jaune glanced at his assortment of masks and thought about donning the Bunny Hood to help speed things up.

He hasn’t worn it that much in the mountain like area due to how he didn’t want the blizzard to blow it off, but he should be safe to wear it inside the temple right?

Plus having the extra speed would make all the difference in a fight.

So with that thought he placed it on his head and ran up the stairs to find himself in a room where he could see a rat with a bomb for a tail that began to run towards him with Jaune quickly doing a side flip, the bunny hood giving him the speed and momentum to dodge it right as he pulled the Hero Bow out to shoot it, making it explode.

“Why do a lot of monsters in Termina explode after dying?” Jaune asked in disbelief before hearing something form behind him and turned only to jump back, barey getting out of the way of the Freezard’s breath attack that would’ve froze him immediately.

He could see a chest behind the Freezard but right now Jaune threw a bomb at the Freezard blowing it up.

With that done he approached the chest, being cautious and opened it to find a Dungeon Map with him looking relieved until he read that there were five different floors as opposed to three but he sighed and put it away, turning only to give a start as there was a stray fairy in the corner looking at him wearily.

One use of the Fairy Mask and it trusted him before Jaune went back downstairs.

Once back in the room with the bridge Jaune jumped across the small gap to enter the door only to stop and stare, craning his neck along with Tatl being just as speechless as he was.

The room they were in was HUGE! Showing what had to be the majority of the temple that was shaped as a cylinder with various ramps jutting out of the wall where doors could be seen.

A tower of some sort was on the floor he was on allowing for passage to the other rooms on this floor as he looked down to see a basement that had lava pits.

This temple was quite the puzzling labyrinth and Jaune was grateful that they were still on the first day-er night rather. He could already tell that he needed all the time he could get to figure out how this temple worked.

“How many rupees do you want to bet we have to find a way up there.” Jaune said dryly not liking their odds while Tatl’s wings drooped down slightly.

“That’s a suckers bet and you know it.” She grumbled with Jaune chuckling before he got to work.

He first went to the yellow door across the room to find himself in a room that seemed to be a dead end with an upper floor and two stone blocks that were in the wall. So he turned into a Goron and pulled the blocks out to find a chest with a key.

Looking around the room, Jaune tilted his head before realizing how far apart the upper paths were and smirked as he pushed the stone block down to the end where it was right between them.

Now if he found a way up there he could easily jump across.

“I have to say I’m having an easier time in this temple than the Woodfall one.” Jaune commented putting the bunny hood back on as a human while he ran out to the circular room, seeing a familiar red door that was blocked off with the ice, a torch nearby with him gaining an idea.

As he set himself up, Tatl spoke. “Probably because you have an idea of what to do compared to last time.” She suggested watching as Jaune shot an arrow through the torch, melting the ice. “And you can do more than swing your sword around now.”

Jaune chuckled at that, heading through the door seeing that he was right as he was back in the entrance where he opened the locked door with the key he found, counting the number of stray fairies he had.

Three so far, just need to find the other twelve.

Hearing howls, Jaune saw two Wolfos rushing towards him leaving him to quickly throw some Deku Nuts, making them howl in annoyance before he shot an arrow through their skulls, killing them quickly.

With that annoyance out of the way, Jaune moved towards the chest in the middle of the room and was relieved to find the compass that merged with the map and he could see the skull icon on the top of Snowhead Temple.

Now he knew where this Goht is most likely at, he’ll head there after he finds the rest of the Stray Fairies.

Huh, according to the map there was another way out of this room and he could see a few cracks on the nearby wall.

“Let me guess, bomb?” Jaune asked Tatl flying up and down as if nodding.

So he did just that and imagine his surprise at how when he did that, he ended up blowing up a crate that was nearby that housed another stray fairy that was quickly absorbed in the Fairy Mask before he went up the now visible stairs.

Nothing interesting really happened in the next room as it was full of icicles that Jaune shot down to break some ice to make a path, he did find another Stray Fairy in that room using the Lens of Truth to find a chest behind a fake wall and another small key that was beneath a snow boulder that he used to unlock the door leading out of the room but that was about it.

The next room had an infestation of White Boes leading for Jaune to take them out as a Deku Scrub before looking up with to see if there were anymore, using the Lens to make sure none of them were invisible, that was how he found the sixth fairy.

From there he had a bit of trouble with a puzzle that utilized his Goron Form into doing something called a Goron Pound, where he curled up in a ball and launched himself into the air to slam into the ground.

Jaune had no clue how that made sense given how he couldn’t jump that well as a Goron, but he wasn’t questioning it as he had to do it on three different switches while timed to get out of that room to find himself back in the circular room, but a floor higher with the ramps showing.

So he rolled his way, picking up speed to launch himself across the room, barely making it to the next ramp, but due to Darmani’s instinct he turned instead of stopping to roll across the slanted wall to the next ramp given how the first one had a frozen door he couldn’t get through while the ramp he stopped at was accessible.

But he didn’t stop there as he checked the map showing the room across from where he was right now had a chest and was a dead end while the room he was at continued on.

Chances were the chest in the dead end room had a fairy or the key to Goht so he had to check it out.

Taking a breath, Jaune repeated what he did earlier and rolled off the ramp, making it to the other side where he entered the door only to tense as bars slid down across the door knowing what that meant by now.

Looking around as he gripped the Iron Hammer, Jaune was surprised when he saw about four blocks that were set around the room before one of them glowed as a blue skinned creature appeared holding a staff while wearing a blue cloak as it cackled.

“A Wizzrobe?!” Tatl asked in shock. “I thought they were extinct.”

“Wizzrobe?” Jaune asked a bit unsure due to how the name was before it shot around the room in a blur, disappearing in one of the blocks.

Oh crap it’s a teleporter.

“Be careful, it can appear anywhere and make illusions of itself, you’ll have a chance to attack before it does as it takes time to do so.” Tatl warned with Jaune keeping an eye out as he saw it appear.

He went to rush it, swinging the hammer but it disappeared before he could get close and rushed around the room before blasting him with ice that knocked Jaune off his feet, nearly freezing him solid as he shivered.

Looking as the Wizzrobe became a blur again, Jaune realized that as he was right now he wouldn’t be able to lay a single hand on this guy, it was too skittish.

With that in mind, Jaune quickly took his Goron Mask off, barely putting the Bunny Hood on to dodge the next blast that would no doubt finish him. He was fighting with the instinct to put his shield up to block it considering he didn’t have it at the moment, instead he pulled out the Hero's Bow and prepped an arrow, watching as the Wizzrobe moved from block to block before he began to chant.

Taking that as his cue, Jaune let an arrow fly, piercing the Wizzrobe making it hiss before it disappeared.

When it reappeared, Jaune cursed as it multiplied itself and knew they were the illusions that Tatl spoke of and he couldn’t tell which one was which-.

“ _ LEFT! _ ” Tatl screamed with Jaune quickly ducking an ice blast, falling to the floor as he attempted to shoot an arrow but the Wizzrobe disappeared before it could reach him.

“How did you know?” Jaune asked seeing the tiles glow. “I couldn’t tell which one was real.”

“The illusions didn’t have any shadows.” Tatl quickly answered with Jaune’s eyes widening as he glanced at the four quick targets, seeing the one with a shadow.

So he aimed and shot the arrow managing to hit it right in the skull as it burned up, dead.

Okay that was a tough one, or it was tough when he didn’t know what to do.

“Thanks Tatl, you really saved me there.” Jaune said grinning at his partner who flew around Jaune.

“You’re welcome, now let’s get going.” Tatl said brightly right as the bars receded and a chest appeared.

Hanging the bow off his shoulder, Jaune approached the chest and opened it to find what looked to be a scroll with a flame symbol on them. “What in the world?” Jaune asked in confusion, grabbing the scroll to unroll it.

As he did so however it glowed as a voice whispered in Jaune’s head with him getting light-headed.

‘ _ With this scroll I leave the power to melt the coldest of ice to whoever finds it, should you seek more search for the other two scrolls for ice to freeze the hottest of flames and of light that can tear through the darkest of abysses. _ ’ The voice whispered as Jaune’s quiver began to glow along with his magic actually showing. ‘ _ To use this power, think of whatever you associate with heat. _ ’

Jaune fell to one knee, gasping for air as the scroll dropped, burning up as it did so destroying the secrets that it had.

“What was that?!” Jaune asked glancing up at Tatl who flew around him in concern.

“I think that was one of the scrolls for the Magic Arrows.” Tatl said with Jaune blinking.

“Magic Arrows?”

“Yeah there are three types rumored to be around Termina,” Tatl explained excitedly as the blonde stood up. “The Fire Arrows, Ice Arrows and Light Arrows, they were only spoken of in legends.”

Taking that in, Jaune pulled an arrow from the quiver and thought back to what the voice said in the scroll and focused on what he thought to be heat.

Fire from a chimney, Desert air, Heat waves, raging infernos.

It took a bit but he was happy to see the arrow head ignite before it went out as he lost focus.

“This will make going around this temple much easier.” Jaune had a big grin on his face, putting the arrow back in his quiver.

* * *

From there onwards, Jaune entered the door across from the Wizzrobe room only to discover that it was the upper part of the room where he gained the map and he used a Fire Arrow on a frozen eye switch to create a shortcut to allow himself to go down before seeing shadows which elicited for him to use the Lens of Truth to see an invisible path leading upwards to yet another Stray Fairy.

Afterwards he ended up going back through the bridge room where he killed the Freezards by the bridge with his Fire Arrows, finding a chest that was frozen which held the eighth fairy.

It was when he was back in the circular room that he checked the map however before realizing he needed to find a way to raise the pillar because the frozen door only lead up but there were no ramps to roll off of. So he had to head down to the basement to see if he could find something.

Heading to the stairs, Jaune found himself in the room with pits of lava, the first Basement floor if the map was to be believed and he changed from the Bunny Hood to the Goron Mask as the rocky form actually protects him from the heat as well as the cold.

Though he will admit he didn’t expect freaking flying skulls that were on fire to shoot out of the lava, catching him off guard as he was knocked into one of the pits, grimacing as he expected pain only to be surprised as it actually felt nice.

“Heck of a way to find out you’re lava proof.” Tatl muttered, nearly having a heart attack at what just happened as Jaune stood up.

“You’re telling me.” Jaune agreed as the skulls came at him again.

He just swung his hammer in a wide arc, shattering them.

Sheathing the hammer as he decided to stay as a Goron down here, Jaune went to move only to accidentally step on a switch in the lava, making a chest appear nearby.

After collecting the fairy in the chest, Jaune glanced around the room trying to find something to use to help raise the pillar-if it could be raised he was just guessing at this point.

There had to be a way to reach the other rooms up there otherwise they wouldn’t be there to begin with.

That was when he saw a wall of iron walls that went up to two floors, a goron switch on the second one and it clicked.

“You thinking what I’m thinking?” Tatl asked, seeing the switch with Jaune nodding.

“Just need to find a way there.” Jaune lamented at how there wasn’t a way up there from here.

He could see a door so he walked through it to find himself in a room of pillars and a frozen Deku Flower that made him smirk.

Though he did have to go back to being human to use the Fire Arrow to melt the ice before becoming a Deku Scrub to launch himself in the air where he saw a few Freezards and three unlit torches leading to a room that was positioned just where the switch he wanted to get to was, only problem was it was blocked by bars.

And if the three torches were anything to go by, he probably had to light them to unlock the door.

‘ _ Man it’s weird at how normal this is becoming for me. _ ’ Jaune thought a bit surprised that he got it that easily compared to last time.

Seriously who builds temples like this?

Still he took care of the Freezards with his Fire Arrows, seeing a chest appear afterwards but he shot the torches to open the door before obtaining another key.

Entering the door he found himself in the right room with the switch that he climbed on before becoming a Goron to activate it and was elated to see the pillar shoot up allowing access to the other rooms while cutting off the ones he went in before.

Yet again he backtracked until he was at the frozen doorway to the left of where he fought the Wizzrobe, finding two more fairies in the process of trying to get back up there after raising the pillar and he climbed up to the next floor, seeing the locked door to the right where he had to roll across the wall as a Goron.

“I’m really getting tired of this temple.” Jaune muttered, though he knew it probably had something to do with it being the middle of the night, or was it morning?

He had no clue how long he’s been at this.

Still he just needed four more fairies and he’s almost at the top where Goht is at, perhaps he could rest before fighting Goht now that he knows where he is?

Opening the door, Jaune was surprised to see mounds of snow moving around with yellow eyes that rose up to smack him, before he blocked with the Iron Hammer, the force of the hit making his feet slide back a bit.

“Okay first ice sculptures tried to kill me, then pots earlier now the snow is trying to kill me?!” Jaune shouted in annoyance, his exhaustion showing in his irritability given how backtracking a pot flew into the air to try and kill him earlier.

“It’s an Eeno they’re very persistent but a good source of heat will destroy them, be careful though the big ones split into three small ones when destroyed.” Tatl warned with Jaune getting the idea as he pulled the Goron Mask off and shot a Fire Arrow at the Eeno and as Tatl said it split into three that he shot three Fire Arrows at, killing it. “Jaune are you alright?”

“I’m fine.” Jaune said automatically, but he must’ve said it too quickly given the look that Tatl was giving him.

“We should find a place to take a break you could use the sleep.” Tatl suggested, now seeing how exhausted he was given that nothing was going on right now.

“We don’t have time, we’re almost done with this Temple.” Jaune said, ignoring the suggestion as he could see some ice on the wall, as if a ledge was there so he pulled out the Lens to see the twelfth Stray Fairy in a bubble. “Just three more and we’ll have to deal with Goht.”

“Jaune you haven’t rested since we started this Cycle and with the blizzard going on and you actually using your magic with the Fire Arrows you need to take a break,” Tatl told him while Jaune shot the bubble surrounding the Stray Fairy. “Just to get your strength back.”

“I said I’m fine.” Jaune finally snapped with a glare, but Tatl wasn’t deterred.

“And what if Goht kills you because you were too exhausted to fight?” Tatl asked the question, making Jaune pause. “Or any of the other monsters, you did take damage from the Wizzrobe earlier.”

Jaune hesitated and Tatl pounced on that.

“If we want to beat Skull Kid you need to be at your best, we won’t make it if you don’t rest.”

After a few seconds, Jaune sighed. “Alright,” He relented, seeing the points that Tatl made. “Let’s find an area to rest up.”

He wasn’t staying in this snow like area to rest up.

As he approached the nearby stairs, melting the ice in the process, he shifted a bit. “Sorry for snapping at you.” He apologized as he didn’t mean to take his irritation out on her.

“It’s fine,” Tatl said, knowing he was just tired. “I think this temple is getting to the both of us.”

Making it up the stairs however had both Jaune and Tatl annoyed because instead of resting they were in a room with two Dinofols.

“Screw this.” Jaune muttered tiredly putting on the Goron Mask given how he was going to be made of rocks he wouldn’t be affected by their swords or fire breath.

Jaune didn’t even use his hammer, he just choke slammed them into the floor before stomping on them.

He was however surprised when both of them had a Stray Fairy with him just needing one more, but he decided to remain a Goron as he sat down to rest now that nothing else was going to kill him.

Now that he was sitting, Jaune could feel his eyes getting heavy showing how Tatl was right about him needing to rest as he yawned.

After this break he just needed to get that last stray fairy and find the key to get to Goht then he’ll be finished with this Temple and then he’ll pick up Crocea Mors and restart the cyc-.

…

…

“After we finish this temple we should rest up at the Hot Spring.” Jaune suggested, with Tatl turning towards him in surprise.

“The Hot Spring? You mean the one at Darmani’s Grave?”

Okay that sounds really morbid when she puts it like that, but it was the only one they know of.

Jaune just shrugged. “It’s technically a Hot Spring and we’re going to be restarting the cycle anyways,” He said not sure if he should be worried at how nonchalantly he was taking that part or not. “Besides after getting through that blizzard today a Hot Spring before heading back to Clock Town sounds amazing.”

Tatl gave him that one as silence descended around them before Jaune instinctively curled up as he fell asleep with Tatl chuckling at that before she kept watch in case something did try to attack Jaune in his sleep.

That way she could wake him up and with him being a Goron, he was practically invulnerable to most attacks, especially curled up in a ball like that.

She was happy that he was resting after everything that happened today as she lowered the amount of light she emitted to avoid waking him up.

It was kind of funny though, everything that happened since they met, if someone told Tatl that any of it was going to happen she would’ve scoffed and made a sarcastic comment to how crazy they were.

Yet here she was.

Ever since Skull Kid found that mask it was all building up to this, maybe if she noticed how strange he was getting since he had it perhaps she and Tael could’ve prevented it. From how the Masked Salesman explained about the Majora's Mask it could be influencing him, so there was the chance that the Skull Kid she knew was still in there.

Or maybe it was inevitable to begin with and she was just deluding herself.

Looking back at the now snoring Jaune, Tatl recalled something the Great Fairy said when it explained how he survived the Lost Woods.

‘ _ Something pulled you into the Lost Woods… Something is testing you. _ ’

What in the world could be testing him and if so why would this test be this nightmare they were trapped in?

What kind of cruel being would make a test like this?

She didn’t know how long she hovered there thinking before she noticed something strange.

Jaune’s curled up body was quivering, was he cold?

When she began to hear Jaune whimper however Tatl realized he wasn’t cold, he was having a nightmare.

Now that she thought about it, she shouldn’t be surprised given how everything went it would’ve been strange if Jaune didn’t have nightmares, she had them to at times. And suddenly she remembered whenever Jaune looked tired, yet he smiled whenever she asked about it and realized he’s been having nightmares for awhile.

‘ _ Why didn’t he say anything? _ ’ Tatl wondered some concern coursing through her as the shaking got a bit more erratic.

Having enough, Tatl flew in close. “Jaune?” She called out trying to wake him up. “Jaune!”

Immediately Jaune uncurled with a wild look about ready to throw a punch in her direction as Tatl quickly flew back in shock while Jaune was breathing heavily, eyes darting around the room before seeing Tatl and realization dawned on his face before he sat down, quickly taking the Goron Mask off.

“Tatl?” Jaune muttered, showing that he realized how he nearly punched Tatl as a Goron. “I didn’t-I mean… I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize, are you alright?” Tatl asked as Jaune turned away and pulled the hood of his hoodie to hide the shame on his face.

“I’m fine,” It came as an automatic response like last time and Jaune knew he didn’t fool Tatl. “How long was I out?”

“No you’re not changing the conversation, I know you’re not alright,” Tatl flew in front of him as he kept trying to turn away but she wasn’t having it. “Don’t look away while I’m talking to you.”

Jaune hesitated, but he stood up. “We’ve wasted enough time, we have to finish this temple.” He said in a tone that told her to drop it.

“How long have you been having nightmares?” Tatl wasn’t willing to drop this however before he whirled around at her.

“ _ I SAID I’M FINE! _ ” He shouted at her in annoyance, his voice echoing around the room.

It got silent between them before Jaune turned around and walked towards the door and after a second, Tatl followed.

Jaune closed his eyes with some guilt because he knew that Tatl was just worried about him and he shouldn’t have snapped at her but they had better things to worry about. His nightmares can take a back seat until Skull Kid was taken care of.

On exiting the room, Jaune found himself on the top of the pillar but he could see one more floor above him, the room where Goht was as well as another room across from him.

“You think there’s a way to raise this again?” Jaune asked, receiving no response for a bit before Tatl spoke.

“I don’t think so, if there is it’s probably inside of the next room.”

Jaune gave a nod of agreement, checking the map to see that there were two chests left in this Temple.

One held the Key to Goht while the other one most likely held the last Stray Fairy.

So he entered the room for the door to lock behind him as he saw multiple blocks around him with a Wizzrobe appearing.

“Huh, deja-vu?” Jaune muttered seeing that it had more places to teleport from while he took the Hero’s Bow out.

It didn’t take too long given Jaune knew how to beat it due to last time, though it did take a bit longer as due to having multiple blocks it had a lot more illusions to try and throw him off.

Seeing it destroyed, a door that Jaune didn’t notice before unlocked rather than the one he came in through so he went through that one to find the gold and blue chest showing what this one was.

He had the Key to Goht.

“Now we just need to find the last fairy,” Jaune looked at Tatl with a grin. “Almost done.”

“Yeah.” Jaune’s smile disappeared from how distant Tatl sounded and knew why she was like that.

Still he didn’t say anything else to that as soon they were back at the pillar with Jaune looking at the map.

“It makes no sense, according to this we missed one chest and it’s in this room, but we didn’t see anything like that anywhere else!” Jaune had a glare on his face. “Where didn’t we look?”

“Do you think it’s invisible?” Tatl asked finding that a little frustrating with Jaune pursing his lips in thought.

“Most likely, we did have to look through some fake walls.” Jaune admitted, wondering where to begin to look as he peered over the edge in thought.

That was when he noticed a strange patch of ice on the wall.

“Wait a moment,” Jaune pulled out the Lens of Truth and smirked as it showed a Deku Flower behind the wall there along with a chest. “Bingo.”

“Great, how do we-?” Tatl went to ask only to see Jaune back up and it clicked. “No, don’t you dare-!”

She was cut off as Jaune leapt off the pillar, the wind blowing past him as he managed to grab the ledge, gritting his teeth as he felt pain in his arm, nearly pulling it out of its socket from grabbing the ledge like that but he ignored it to pull himself through only for Tatl to fly in and slam into the back of his head.

“Ow, what was that for-?” Jaune went to ask only for Tatl to ring loudly in his face.

“ _ DO YOU HAVE SOME SORT OF DEATH WISH?! _ ” Tatl shouted at him. “ _ YOU COULD’VE DIED! _ ”

“Hey I didn’t.” Jaune said as if that justified what he just did, rubbing the back of his head. “It’s no big deal.”

“No big de-what if you missed?!” Tatl asked with Jaune glaring.

“But I didn’t.”

“Didn’t isn’t good enough you could’ve missed and died right there from the fall,” Tatl told him before she went quiet as a startling realization washed over her. “Are you trying to die?”

Jaune gaped at her. “Of course not, why on Remnant would you think that?”

“You could’ve died when you jumped off the mountain, coming here without your sword and from what you just did!” Tatl listed off his actions this cycle. “Along with the other risks you’ve been taking in this temple.”

“Tatl I’m not trying to die.” Jaune tried to appease her. “I know Termina would be screwed if I wasn’t here to rewind time-.”

“I could care less about Termina right now, I’m worried about your death wish!” Tatl interrupted hotly. “I don’t want to lose a friend!”

Jaune went quiet at that.

Death Wish, he didn’t have one, he wanted to keep living thank you very much. But he can’t worry about himself while this whole mess was going on, why couldn’t Tatl see that-?

Realization dawned on him.

Because she lost Tael in that first cycle.

Now he understood as Tatl was shaking in a mixture of fury and concern. She already saw a family member die and was helpless to stop it much how he felt on seeing that, so seeing him just risk his life like that unsure if he would make the leap or not most likely made those memories fresh in her mind.

“Tatl, I promise that I don’t have a death wish.” Jaune said softly to her.

“I don’t believe you.” Tatl stated with Jaune looking away with a sigh as they stood there in silence.

Jaune then walked to the chest to get the last Stray Fairy. “We’re almost done, let’s finish this up and get out of here.”

“You’re avoiding the issue again.” Tatl pointed out with Jaune ignoring that part, not wanting to admit that she was right.

** _To Be Continued…_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay I thought about doing the boss fight in this chapter but with how long it is right now I think that would be a bit too much so I’ll leave it for the next chapter and I know I probably disappointed some people by having his Goron Weapon be a plain Iron Hammer but at least think on it like this, the sword isn’t the only weapon that Jaune will upgrade in this story and I’ll leave it at that.
> 
> But while most of this chapter had him going through the temple which can be kind of boring I hoped you enjoyed the dialogue between Jaune and Tatl along with them finally confronting the issue of Jaune pushing the nightmares and his lack of self-preservation showing things getting strained between the two.


	10. The Mystery of Snowhead Finale

** _~Dawn of the Second Day~_ **

** _-Forty-Eight Hours Remain-_ **

It took a bit to get to the locked door leading to Goht after that… Mishap and the argument that Jaune and Tatl had, the two of them haven’t said much to each other since.

But on the way, Jaune took notice at how some parts of the pillar were a different color and after a bit punched them as a Goron to make the pillar a bit shorter which allowed for him to find a hidden passage that allowed for him to get up to the main door.

However he was hesitating on going in because the moment he does, he would be in for a very tough fight.

So he turned to Tatl.

“Do you know anything about Goht that might come up in the fight?”

With Odolwa that fight came out of nowhere and they didn’t have a plan, if it was Goht in this temple then they had a chance to make a plan to take him down quickly.

Tatl frowned, trying to think. “From the stories I’ve heard, he was built to take down an army of enemies with little to no effort,” She began, not sure if they could count on the old stories or not. “So going at him head on won’t work and I think he had the ability to shoot lightning.”

Jaune winced at hearing that as he didn’t know if his Goron form would help out, given it was rock you would think that lightning wouldn’t affect him that much, but Goron’s had a nervous system, so he didn’t know.

Perhaps he could use the Bunny Hood to keep ahead and shoot arrows or throw bombs until he wins?

“So don’t out muscle him, keep moving and attack any weak spots I see.” Jaune listed off, not liking those odds.

It wasn’t a plan, but without any true information on how these monsters work he couldn’t make an effective one.

So he pulled out the gold key and unlocked the door, tensed and ready to jump out of the way as the door opened up for him to walk through.

It was a rather big room, not like the one with Odolwa but the room itself seemed to look like a race track with big, rusty walls blocking out the room that wrapped around the circular room where the podium was, Jaune glancing around before spotting Goht who was taller than Odolwa, a fact that had Jaune fearful of this fight in itself.

A thirty foot tall robotic goat covered head to toe in steel plating that had various hues of purple and black. Its face looked like that of a glaring old man with a long pointed beard.

But what shocked Jaune and Tatl was the fact that Goht was frozen solid.

“Wait, if he’s frozen then how is he causing the blizzard?” Jaune asked not getting it with Tatl going silent in thought before making a ringing noise.

“It’s his presence,” Tatl said, earning a confused look from Jaune. “His presence in this temple is causing for the blizzard to happen much like how Odolwa’s presence in the Temple caused the poisoned swamp since the Guardian Giants were sealed away to prevent their defeat.”

Jaune gave her that one before grimacing. “I need to free him from the ice so we can get rid of him, won’t I?” He asked, dreading the answer.

“... I think so.” Tatl agreed looking at Jaune who hung his head. “At least he didn’t come out of nowhere.”

That made Jaune laugh, feeling a bit better despite his nerves. “Yeah and we have a Red Potion with us so we’re good.”

Still his Arrows won’t do much to his armor so that was out, but Darmani’s Hammer might have an effect. And he won’t be able to dodge that well as a Goron so going head-to-head against Goht might actually be his only chance despite how bad of an idea it was.

So he pulled out the Hero’s Bow and readied an arrow. “You ready?” Jaune asked Tatl, focusing as the arrow caught fire. “Once I melt the ice we’re going to be in for quite the fight.”

Tatl wanted to say no, but they needed to do this, so she gave a nod showing that despite their argument earlier she had his back.

For better or worse, they were in this together.

With that said, Jaune let the Fire Arrow loose as it shot into the ice, steam emitting immediately as it began to melt rather quickly.

Seeing that, Jaune quickly donned the Goron Mask and got ready with his feet digging into the ground with a determined look, bracing himself for what he anticipates to be one of the hardest fights of his life.

What he does will determine if it’ll be his last or not.

Once the ice melted, the gears inside of Goht began to shudder before they turned on as the head lifted with Goht awakening from his slumber, glancing around from side to side before seeing Jaune who glared right back.

With a roar, Goht slammed a mechanical hoof into the ground making the rusted metal walls break apart as it went to tackle Jaune who curled up and rolled out of the way as Goht began to run through the room with Jaune getting the idea.

This room was a Race Track, so this fight was also a race of death if one thought about it funnily enough.

Perhaps his current form was the reason for finding that humorous, but Jaune quickly took off after Goht, spikes emerging from his body as his magic made him go faster with him slamming into Goht’s body, sparks flying with the spikes hitting the armor.

Not having it, Goht slammed into Jaune causing him to veer off as a stalactite fell from the ceiling with Jaune barely avoiding it before having to roll to the right to avoid a bolt of electricity that surged from Goht’s horns.

Tatl was doing her best to try and keep up as Jaune took off again attempting to run Goht down, dodging the rocks that were kicked in his direction with surprising control.

What she didn’t know was that Darmani was actually taking the reigns in this fight, using his memories to help Jaune control himself while rolling as he caught up with Goht using a slanted rock to launch himself into the air where he collided with Goht’s left hind leg making him stumble right as Jaune came to a stop in front of the Snowhead Monster.

Not wasting any time, Jaune pulled out the Iron Hammer and slammed it into Goht’s face, spinning in the process to hit him again but when he tried for the third time, Goht slammed his horns into it, the two of them struggling as Goht was making Jaune slide back before letting out electricity through the hammer.

Jaune cried out in pain, his body spasming as Goht took advantage of that and used his horns to knock the hammer away, flinging Jaune over his shoulder into the wall, taking off in the process.

Shaking his head to clear it, Jaune quickly grabbed the hammer to put it up and rolled to catch up with Goht, cursing as he sensed the monster of Snowhead actually stop to ambush him, flinging electricity left and right with him being hard pressed to dodge them, giving the Mechanical Monster the time to run.

It was a game of cat and mouse with Jaune being happy that Goht didn’t seem to be planning a strategy despite being a robot, just acting on instinct. But it countered its lack of planning with sheer strength that Odolwa lacked showing that Goht was stronger than Odolwa who was smarter than him.

He could sense Tatl easily flying after them as she flew near him. “Goht takes a few seconds to charge the electricity, it’s not much of a time window but you can take advantage of that,” She got out panting slightly from how fast she was flying. “And steam seemed to be emitting from its back, chances are if you hit him there you might damage the gears!”

Jaune had no way of answering her as he rolled, but he did appreciate the information that she gave him, especially since she might’ve just found the weak part of Goht’s steel plated armor.

Curving around more stalactites, Jaune kept pushing himself to get closer and closer to Goht who was flinging more rocks his way, along with the random bursts of electricity, showing that Tatl was right with how there was a few seconds between each shot at him.

Finding another slanted slope, Jaune launched himself and managed to slam into Goht’s back, uncurling himself as he grabbed a wedge between the steel plated armor with Goht howling furiously at the newly added weight.

Even as a Goron, Jaune could feel the heat coming from the wedges as he raised his fist that wasn’t using one of them as a handhold and began to punch Goht’s back, his fist actually denting it.

Goht slammed his side into a wall as he ran, attempting to buck Jaune off who punched his back repeatedly.

As it cracked a bit with more steam escaping, Goht had enough as one of the steel plates opened up and shot a freaking bomb at Jaune’s surprised face knocking him off as the explosion was a lot stronger than the Bomb Mask with Jaune’s skin looking cracked.

Struggling to get up, Jaune saw Goht turn around and pawed at the ground.

“Jaune, get ready, he's going to charge.” Tatl warned with Jaune nodding and accepting the challenge, curling up into a ball and he shot at Goht who met him head to head with a loud bang.

They both shot back with Jaune managing a back flip despite his large size, landing on his feet a bit unsteadily while Goht fell to his side, rolling quite a bit but getting up immediately.

While Jaune’s rock skin was a bit more cracked, some blood showing in the process, Goht had the most noticeable damage with his face dented, black smoke emerging from it before it had two plates on its shoulders open up to shoot more bombs with Jaune quickly rolling out of the way.

It seemed that Goht was no longer attempting to have this be a race and was now actively trying to kill him.

Using one of the bombs to mask his approach, Jaune shot through the smoke uncurling as he pulled out the hammer to slam into Goht’s dented face making the damage worse while Goht managed to tag him with more electricity, part of it missing to hit the wall, while Jaune slammed into the other wall with Goht regaining his footing.

Jaune quickly stood up with a glare, getting ready to move as he heard Tatl fly next to him. “You’re wearing him down, just a few more hits and he’ll be finished.” She said seeing the damage done to both of them.

“Got it… And thanks for the advice.” Jaune said, referring to the hints she gave during the fight right before Goht charged and this time he grabbed it by the horns, sliding back.

Seeing the horns beginning to charge, Jaune thought quickly and moved his hands from the horns to uppercut Goht right in the face, making his head snap upwards, the electricity hitting the ceiling in the process, but Jaune didn’t stop there and began to unleash a barrage of punches, ignoring the stalactites that fell around them, each one of his punches filled with Darmani’s fury at the damages this monster has done to Snowhead Mountain, making Goht’s head snap side to side.

If he paid any attention, he would’ve noticed his fists catching fire with each punch, before he managed to actually knock the mask off of Goht’s face to reveal its robotic face that roared in fury, slamming its head into him with Jaune gritting his teeth as one of the horns actually impaled his left side right when it began to discharge electricity with Jaune howling in agony.

“ _ JAUNE! _ ” Tatl shouted at seeing that, looking for a way to help him out before seeing enough room in the armor wedges from Jaune’s hits and braced herself as an idea came to her before she flew in there, grabbing some small rocks in the process, Jaune seeing that despite the pain.

“ _ TATL! _ ” Jaune called out before Goht ran with Jaune still on the horn, headbutting the wall to damage Jaune who tried to get himself off before Goht began to spaz out a bit.

Meanwhile inside of the machine, Tatl was trying to find some way to get Goht’s attention off her friend, flying around the gears to avoid being crushed as she threw rocks in them to jam them, some of the rocks breaking but some of them caused for the gears to stop.

Her actions were making Goht short-circuit a little, allowing for Jaune to free himself by breaking the horn that impaled him, pulling it out of his side with some difficulty before stabbing it right into Goht’s robotic eye before it took off, more smoke billowing right as it ran into the wall.

As it did that, rocks fell and covered Goht, burying him as he gave one last cry before shutting down, officially dead beyond repair.

Jaune quickly ran towards the buried monster and began to move the rocks.

“ _ TATL! _ ” He shouted again praying she was alright as he threw a rather huge rock. “ _ SAY SOMETHING! _ ”

Jaune didn’t care that he might be bleeding out right now, he just wanted his friend back.

Moving another rock, Jaune spoke. “This can’t be happening,” He whispered, now understanding what Tatl felt when he risked his life for that last Stray Fairy. “I’m sorry I worried you earlier, I’m sorry that I yelled at you!”

Struggling to move another rock as he could see Goht’s remains below it, Jaune continued.

“It’s just- I didn’t want to burden you with my nightmares,” Jaune admitted hoping that she was still alive, this time tears were falling. “Everything that’s happened, I wanted to be strong to keep you from getting worried, you were just getting better after seeing Tael again that I wanted to keep you smiling.”

Moving another rock showing Goht’s mechanized face, Jaune’s hands fell as he couldn’t see any signs of her.

“Please, I don’t know what I would do without you around,” Jaune whispered not wanting to accept that she might be dead. “If I can’t protect my friends, then what good am I?”

“Don’t say that.” Jaune’s head snapped up as he could finally see a bright light emanating from inside of Goht.

“Tatl!” Jaune reached in there, feeling around before he managed to pull her out seeing her light a bit dimmed but not too much. “Are you alright?”

“I’ll live, sorry I couldn’t answer you earlier, I was trying to get myself loose,” Tatl apologized while Jaune smiled in relief. “But forget me you’re the one with the hole in your side!”

Jaune blinked, the adrenaline from the fight and worry were now leaving his body as his vision was swimming, something that Tatl noticed.

“Potion! Jaune, use your Potion right now!”

Forcing himself to keep his eyes open, Jaune grabbed the bottle out of his bag and downed the Red Potion, gritting his teeth as his injuries healed before feeling refreshed.

“Almost forgot about that.” Jaune muttered with Tatl giving him an incredulous look.

“How do you forget a hole in your side?!”

Jaune just laughed, taking the Goron mask off as he did so before wincing as he placed a hand on his side.

It would take a bit for the pain of being impaled to go away, but Jaune had something he needed to say to his friend.

“Tatl I-,” Jaune began but Tatl interrupted.

“Before you start let me say this,” Tatl said softly to him. “You can’t just bottle everything up, you said you didn’t want to burden me with your nightmares but it’s not a burden! It’ll never be a burden.”

With that said, she flew a bit closer and Jaune felt what he was pretty sure was a tiny hand on his cheek.

“I’m your friend,” Tatl reminded him, wanting to be sure he got this. “Friends help each other get through things, alright?”

Feeling some tears coming out of his eyes, Jaune gave a wordless nod before he wiped his eyes, smiling with relief, no longer needing to say anything at the moment.

The heartfelt moment was interrupted by a glowing object off to the side and it took Jaune a few moments to realize that was the mask he knocked off of Goht, so he approached it, picking it up and once more he and Tatl were back on one of the platforms surrounded by green water and stone pillars.

Just like last time, he could see a giant figure enshrouded in the distance yet Jaune was able to tell that it was a different one than last time. “Y-You’re the second Giant,” Tatl said, seeing what was going on. “The Guardian of Snowhead.”

The Giant gave a bellow that sounded like the Oath to Order, but instead of it being a song, it was as if the being was speaking.

“B-But why were you sealed away? How were you sealed away?” Tatl asked, wanting some answers only for the Giant to be disappearing into the mist. “H-Hey wait!”

But it was all for nothing as Jaune and Tatl were back in the Mountain Village, the sun shining showing it was nine in the morning, but that wasn’t the most surprising part.

No, the most surprising part was the fact that all of the snow was gone, spring-like weather filling the air as the long blizzard finally came to an end. Bright green grass was everywhere and the flowers were blooming, there was even a rainbow in the sky due to all of the snow quickly evaporating.

“This place is beautiful.” Jaune whispered seeing how it looked when it wasn’t covered in snow.

“Two down, two to go.” Tatl said with Jaune smiling.

They were halfway done with gathering the four.

“Alright, let’s get the Stray Fairies to the Fountain-.” Jaune went to say only for Tatl to chuckle. “What?”

“How about we get your sword first alright Jaune?” Tatl suggested with Jaune giving a sheepish chuckle.

“Right, since we’re here and all.” Jaune rubbed the back of his head with a smile.

* * *

Zubora was giving Jaune and Tatl a strange look as the blonde received the extremely sharp Crocea Mors from Gabora with him looking it over with a pleased look.

It looked good as new, the scratches were also buffed out of the shield giving it a bit of a shine. Better than it looked in ages if Jaune was being honest.

“I take it you’re pleased?” Zubora asked with Jaune giving a nod. “That’s good, we owe you big time.”

That made Jaune look at Zubora in confusion, sheathing Crocea Mors in the process. “What do you mean?”

“Do you take me for an idiot?” Zubora asked in good humor before glaring at Gabora who made an ‘Ugoh’ sound. “Oh shut it you big Deku Stick, I didn’t ask you!”

Jaune just looked completely lost, exchanging glances with Tatl to see that she didn’t know either.

Zubora sighed. “This blizzard has been happening for weeks with it getting worse, so bad that even the Gorons were suffering,” He said crossing his arms to give Jaune a one eyed smirk. “Yet the same day you show up, not only do you find the hidden Hot Spring Water to unfreeze the Hearth for us, but suddenly it’s spring the very next day?”

Seeing Jaune looking a bit embarrassed was enough for Zubora to confirm that as he laughed.

“Kid you are definitely something else,” Zubora’s grin got wider at Jaune. “I’m happy we got to work on your blade.”

“Ugo! Oh! Ugo ugo!” Gabora slammed a fist to his chest in agreement.

Their praise was getting to be a bit much for Jaune who was red in the face as he smiled, though it was strained as he knew he needed to restart the cycle.

“Though I wouldn’t mind upgrading it if you have the Gold Dust I told you about.” Zubora suggested with Jaune sighing.

“We haven’t found any.” Tatl answered for him. “We appreciate the thought though.”

“Hm,” Zubora rubbed his chin in thought before looking at Gabora. “Well you knew about the hot water somehow, any chance you know where to find the Gold Dust?”

“Goh! Ugo Goh!” Gabora gave a nod as he spoke with Zubora blinking.

“Wha? The Goron Races?” Zubora asked gaining Jaune and Tatl’s attention with the Swordsmith looking thoughtful. “Well it’s true that they have prizes for their races, in fact with Spring here the chance of them having one today is pretty high.”

“And they have Gold Dust?” Jaune asked, wondering if he should check it out.

“I don’t know if they do or not, but it wouldn’t hurt to look,” Now Zubora was wincing. “Though good luck finding a Goron to give it to you.”

Jaune just grinned. “I might have a ‘ _ friend _ ’ to help me out.”

Raising a brow at how Jaune worded that, Zubora gave a shrug. “Alright if you get the Gold Dust today we’ll upgrade your weapon as thanks for bringing spring here,” He offered with Jaune nodding in agreement. “But only today, we’ll be heading to Clock Town tomorrow for the Carnival of Time.”

Jaune stilled at hearing that before nodding again, trying not to show some remorse knowing that the swordsmith wouldn’t find the Carnival.

Still he was going to head for the Fairy Fountain before finding out about the Goron Races.

* * *

The moment they stepped into the water of the Fairy Fountain, the Stray Fairies flew out of Jaune’s bag and in a flash of light the Great Fairy of Snowhead Mountain appeared with red hair as opposed to the green or pink hair that the other two had.

“Oh strong young one, I am the Great Fairy of Power,” The Fairy introduced herself smiling kindly at Jaune who quickly bowed his head. “You have shown tremendous strength in your journey, far more than most your age would.”

Jaune shuffled a bit, not so sure about that.

He had a lot of help in his adventures so far, so it wasn’t just his strength.

“Don’t be so quick to look down on yourself,” The Great Fairy told him as if knowing what he was thinking. “Strength and Power comes in many forms.”

“They do?” Jaune asked, not expecting that.

Giving a nod, the Great Fairy floated up as she held her hand out with it glowing. “Now as thanks for restoring my shattered body to normal allow me to give you a special item.”

The bright light that followed almost blinded Jaune before he felt different, a rush of energy coursing through him and that was when he noticed a pair of bracelets on his wrists that he stared at curiously the golden tint shining in the light from the fountain.

“These are the Power Bracelets,” The Great Fairy of Power explained, smiling at Jaune’s curiosity. “It’s an item that bestows great strength to one who wears them, and it also braces your body to handle immense pressure.”

“How strong are these?” Jaune asked in disbelief at what he was hearing.

Bracelets that give super strength?

Yes he’s had several weapons, magic and masks but this was the first time any of his items, that wasn’t a mask, boosted something about him.

“Enough to lift and throw stone statues that weigh multiple tons.” The casual way the Great Fairy said that made Jaune’s eyes widen in disbelief. “But they don’t increase your striking power.”

“How does that make sense?” Tatl asked in confusion, with Jaune nodding in agreement to that question.

Enough strength to lift several tons, but the same strength when swinging a sword?

“They weren’t created for combat but they’ve been modified over the years,” The Great Fairy elaborated to them. “They will no doubt come in handy for the rest of your journey.”

* * *

“So do you feel any different?” Tatl asked as both she and Jaune were back in Snowhead Village, both of them ready to head out to Goron City to inquire about the race.

“Well I feel more energized, but I think that was just from being in the Fountain.” Jaune looked down at the bracelets.

He still couldn’t believe what he heard about these bracelets.

Several tons.

It was a hard concept to grasp.

Sure it was magic, but Jaune couldn’t wrap his head around it, especially because he didn’t feel any different with them on.

Did they have to be activated like his magic?

Shaking his head, Jaune decided he could try and figure it out in the next cycle because he had a time limit to get to the Goron Race right now if he wanted to upgrade Crocea Mors.

… That’s if they do give out the Gold Dust as a prize.

As they walked, Jaune smiled at the warm air, taking notice at how different the place looked as he could see a lake instead of ice in one area that they were passing with Jaune folding up the Winter Cloak to put in his bag.

But right when they were about to cross a bridge, they paused at hearing a crying that was very familiar.

“Don’t tell me.” Tatl muttered to herself while Jaune slowly followed the crying, backtracking until he went up a slope to see a passageway that was blocked off by a rock.

In front of said giant rock was the son of the Goron Elder who was sniffling, rubbing his eyes.

“Hey are you alright?” Jaune asked approaching the baby Goron who sniffled and glanced up at him.

“Hm? Who are you?” He asked wiping his eyes to focus on Jaune who smiled a bit awkwardly.

“Oh uh I’m Jaune Arc.” Jaune introduced himself having to remind himself that he only met the kid as a Goron, the time he saw him crying didn’t seem to register with the kid either. “What’s wrong?”

The question made the kid whimper as he glanced back at the large rock. “Now that it’s spring, the Goron Derby Race is supposed to happen,” He explained with Jaune gaining an idea of what the area behind the rock was. “But this rock is in the way and none of the other Gorons can move it, with it there we won’t be able to start the race.”

“Hey Jaune I think you can move it.” Tatl suggested with Jaune giving her a surprised look.

“Are you kidding, that's way too heavy-,” He began to protest only for it to die down as he remembered the Power Bracelets. “Oh right.”

W-Would they work?

The Goron Kid blinked in confusion at what was being said as Jaune stood up and approached the rock, hesitating a bit.

Placing his hands beneath a small opening beneath the rock, Jaune crouched down and began to lift with his legs, grunting as the rock shuddered before it slowly began to rise with the Goron Kid gaping at what he was seeing.

Jaune kept lifting until he blinked in astonishment as he was holding the giant rock above his head, feeling some strain but not too much of it.

“Whoa, you Terminans are a lot stronger than we Gorons give you credit for.” The Goron Kid said looking very impressed before Jaune threw the rock across the water, watching it sink. “That was amazing.”

“It was nothing.” Jaune said, still feeling shocked by how that worked.

“Nothing? You’re crazy if you think that’s nothing.” The kid said obviously disagreeing while he looked at Jaune having respect for his strength. “You should watch the races, you might enjoy them.”

With that said he curled up and rolled inside of the cavern that the boulder hid while Jaune just glanced at the bracelets in awe.

He was never taking these off.

“Well he’s certainly more enjoyable when he isn’t crying.” Tatl muttered to herself, leaving for Jaune to chuckle.

“He’s just a little kid, you can’t expect him to be mature yet.” Jaune said grinning at her before glancing around to see if anyone was watching, pulling out the Goron Mask in the process.

“I guess so, doesn’t make it any less annoying though.” Tatl conceded, not even blinking as Jaune changed into a Goron before he went to head off towards the Village to find out more about the race and give them some time to set it up considering he did just get the boulder out of the way.

* * *

It got silent when Jaune entered the Village as every Goron looked in his direction while he walked towards where he last saw the Elder, trying to ignore how unnerving the silence was for him.

He didn’t know which was worse, the silence or them thinking he’s Darmani.

Did they discover he wasn’t actually Darmani? That could be a bad thing if they misinterpret how he could turn into a Goron given the method.

“Ah Darmani, I’ve been waiting impatiently for you!” The Elder said upon seeing Jaune putting his worries to rest on why the Gorons were silent. “You sure took your time to come back after you sealed up the blizzard that has been blowing from the Snowhead Temple.”

“Sorry, I had to catch my breath.” Jaune said a bit sheepishly, earning a rather sharp laugh from the Elder.

“There was once a time where you would say doing this would be as simple as eating a rock.” The Elder’s laughter turned into coughing before he cleared his throat. “Thanks to you, Spring has come to Goron Village, everyone is pleased.”

“Darmani! Darmani! Darmani!” The Gorons began to chant their hero’s name with Darmani’s personality seemingly taking over as Jaune gave a confident look, happy to see them saved.

Though he knew that the blizzard would be back, Jaune was happy he did help them in this timeline. And it wasn’t just him and Tatl that saved the Gorons. It was all possible because of Darmani, if the deceased Goron didn’t pass on his power they wouldn’t have been able to take Goht down.

In a way Darmani’s death wasn’t in vain because of that.

“Darmani I actually wanted to talk to you about something,” The Elder said with Jaune now looking at him, curious to see what he wanted. “It’s something that’s been on my mind since you forced me to come back to the village.”

“What is it?” Jaune asked with some concern.

“For many years I’ve been the protector of this tribe as its tribal patriarch but I’m getting too old for this,” The Elder’s tone had a hint of melancholy to it. “Your actions yesterday only proved that, which is why I need to step down and let a younger Goron take over… One who makes calm decisions, yet boasts courageous determination.”

Jaune felt his eyes widen as he had a feeling on where this was going. “I don’t thin-.” He tried to get out but the Elder continued.

“The only one I can think of is you Darmani, there can be no other,” The Elder said with the other Goron’s cheering while Jaune felt a very deep drop in his stomach from what was happening. “Don’t answer yet, take some time to think it over, perhaps in the Goron Race and then come talk to me.”

With that said the Elder began to slowly walk away while Jaune was understandably dumbfounded by this new development.

* * *

“Jaune you need to stop freaking out.” Tatl commented as they were now heading for the race track as Jaune kept muttering to himself.

“Stop-?! They just asked for me to be their leader, how can I not freak out?!” Jaune demanded giving her a look. “I wasn’t expecting this! I mean I’m not a real Goron, so this is bad!”

“Why would it matter? They won’t remember it,” Tatl pointed out with Jaune grimacing. “You’re just overthinking it right now.”

“I-I guess.” Jaune muttered as he did forget the whole rewinding time thing due to the bombshell that was dropped on him.

Seeing how he got silent, Tatl chuckled. “Though you would make for a pretty good patriarch for their tribe.”

That earned her a confused look. “Me a leader? You have to be kidding.”

Jaune didn’t see himself leading anyone in the future, he was pretty sure he didn’t have it in himself to do that.

“Why not, you have a knack for it,” Tatl said, not surprised that Jaune didn’t think that about himself given how he’s acted. “You did well with calming the Goron’s after finding the Elder.”

“That was Darmani’s personality, not me.” Jaune dismissed that claim rather easily.

“Okay then what about whenever you helped people and how they gave you their trust so easily in the span of three days?” Tatl tried that route, leaving for Jaune to stop in surprise. “Like when Kotake took you at your word that you would find her sister or when you gave Grog hope despite it being the last day. You do kind of draw people in and inspire them a bit.”

“I-,” Jaune went quiet thinking. “I never noticed.”

He had no idea what to say to that.

“You even gave me hope because I thought it was useless in the beginning,” Tatl confessed, seeing how Jaune was thinking about that. “You need to have more confidence in yourself.”

That sounded oddly similar to the advice his Dad gave him about confidence, but Jaune had a feeling that Tatl meant confidence in a different way.

Their conversation stopped as they finally made it to the Race Track where they could see countless Goron’s either stretching in preparation for the competition or filing into the makeshift stands to watch the competitors who had little Goron Children running around them, laughing as they enjoyed the warm air.

One child in particular rolled up to Jaune. “Darmi! I’ve been waiting for you,” The Elder’s Son greeted with a happy smile while Tatl barely hid in Jaune’s hood. “Hey you’re entering the race aren't ya?”

Jaune gave a wordless nod making the kid give a gleeful laugh.

“I’ll be cheering for you Darmi, you’ll be a favorite to win!”

With that said the kid rolled off, leaving for Jaune to smile at how the kid had faith in him… Or rather in Darmani.

Jaune shook his head to focus and after waiting for a few minutes he stood among the other racers who looked ready, Tatl already flying away to keep hidden without risking falling out or getting sick while Jaune raced.

‘ _ Just do what you did with Goht and you’ll be fine. _ ’ Jaune told himself, though he winced. ‘ _ Aside from rolling into the others that is. _ ’

He had this.

“Welcome to the 230th Annual Goron Derby Race!” A voice could be heard with Jaune looking up to see a lone Goron shouting over the cheering of the various others. “As always we have plenty of competitors from Darwin to Krane and even Darmani the Third, the winner will be awarded this bottle of Gold Dust, now remember I want a clean race between all of you, though knocking each other off course is allowed, keep it clean.”

‘ _ Oh so we can knock each other around. _ ’ Jaune was surprised by that right as the Goron continued.

“On your marks,” Every Racer curled up with Jaune following a second too late, to make up for it however he began to roll in place, building up momentum as his Magic began to charge. “Get set… Go!”

The moment Go was said, all of the racers took off, but Jaune actually managed to launch ahead thanks to his burst of magic, gaining speed as he shot forward, his echolocation working overtime to map the track itself, while keeping an eye on the other racers that went to try and bump into him.

But even though Darmani’s memories and reflexes were a big help to Jaune in this race, he was still inexperienced compared to the other racers who caught up just as easily with him swerving to avoid being hit, but losing the lead in the process.

Rounding the first bend, Jaune nearly hit a tree that he had to swerve around, unknowingly dodging an attempt to hit him with the culprit slamming into it, knocking himself out.

Using the ramps provided to pick up more speed, Jaune launched himself into the lead, jumping over another racer who immediately slammed into him ignoring the spikes he had making him spin, nearly falling to a lower ramp, but Jaune preserved and continued forward with him and this last racer neck to neck with the finishing line coming up.

Feeling his magic growing faint showing that he was over exerting himself, Jaune pushed it all into his rolling and managed to shoot ahead, barely hitting the finish line in first place, uncurling as he laid on his back panting in exhaustion while the crowd went wild at Darmani the Third winning the race.

As difficult as it was to focus and do this, Jaune will admit he had a lot of fun racing these other Gorons with him giving a hearty chuckle.

But on laying on his back, Jaune had a good view of the moon up in the sky staring down at him, reminding him of the impending doom once more and the thought of fun was erased from his mind.

He remained in that mood after being given the bottle of Gold Dust as he walked his way back to the Smithy, a contemplative look on his face.

** _~Night of the Second Day~_ **

** _-Thirty-Six Hours Remain-_ **

Once more without his sword, Jaune grimaced as he now sat in the Hot Spring water, the heat of it making his muscles tense up before he relaxed as they washed over the aching showing how much he needed something like this.

Currently he was only in a towel he borrowed from Zubora, his clothes folded off to the side wanting to relax this night while his sword was being upgraded.

“You coming in Tatl?” Jaune asked, glancing up at his flying fairy friend who kept away from the water. “It’s nice.”

“I’m good Jaune, thanks.” Tatl said, showing she didn’t really have any intentions of getting in the water.

“Suit yourself.” Jaune said with a shrug before he glanced down to his side to see a scar from when Goht impaled him.

It seemed that the damage he takes in his Goron or Deku Form transfers over to his Human form and even with the amazing healing properties of the Red Potion, it would still leave scars and it wasn’t the only one he had.

There were claw marks on his left shoulder from when he first fought some Wolfos and a jagged scar across his chest where his first fight with a Dinolfos managed to clip him.

Luckily he didn’t seem to have any lasting damage, like when Odolwa broke his arm and the actual injuries themselves were fully healed, so they shouldn’t really bother him all that much in the future.

But it was rather unnerving to see these scars as they showed how easily he could’ve died in this adventure of his.

‘ _ How long before I try to attempt the next temple? _ ’ Jaune thought to himself as he did want to try and free the last two Giants as quickly as possible he knew that he needed to take things slow.

His skills still need to be worked on because these Temples were becoming increasingly more difficult the further he got, the Woodfall one wasn’t too bad but Snowhead really pushed him to his limit.

Although that could be because he didn’t have Crocea Mors with him when he went in there. But he still had his Magic to work on, a new form to train up as while Darmani’s memories and muscle memory got him far he needed to get used to fighting as a Goron even more.

And he had to train his Deku form up a bit more. He’ll worry about that in the next cycle, for now he’s going to relax as much as he could.

After enjoying the peaceful silence, Jaune blinked as he remembered wanting to ask Tatl something that’s been bothering him since yesterday.

So he asked.

“What do you look like when you aren’t glowing?”

The silence got a bit more noticeable the second that question left Jaune’s mouth as Tatl was suddenly staring at him, glowing a bit brighter. It took a few seconds for Jaune to realize that the extra glow was out of embarrassment.

“W-Where did that come from?!” Tatl asked, panic in her tone.

Jaune blinked, not seeing the problem. “It’s just been bothering me, you keep glowing and I don’t know what you look like without it.” He said, his confusion showing on his face.

“Do you go around without clothes in public?!”

“What does that have-?” Jaune went to ask only for a possibility to click in his head. “Wait you mean that-.”

“No, asking a fairy to lower their glow is the same as asking someone to take their clothes off!” Tatl exclaimed with Jaune’s face going red as he didn’t know that.

“I swear I had no idea.” Jaune said a bit panicked, not meaning to make this awkward.

Tatl just turned away, still glowing bright in embarrassment while Jaune looked down, chastened.

Eventually however Tatl broke the now awkward silence. “I know you didn’t realize the meaning of that question, just don’t ask that of any other fairy.” She said with Jaune now giving her a relieved look.

“Done.”

** _~Dawn of the Final Day~_ **

** _-Twenty-Four Hours Remain-_ **

“We kept you waiting,” Zubora said with a huge smirk as he handed Jaune his newly upgraded sword that was in a different sheath than what he was used to. “But it’s done, give it a look.”

Unsheathing the sword, Jaune was greeted by a beautifully crafted blade that was infused with the golden dust that shined in the light flooding in from the window. There were still some silver patches around the gold that were diamond shapes with the blade itself being extended to give Jaune a bit more range. The hilt of the blade itself was changed to show a white grip with some red in it, the guards of the hilt pointing upwards giving it a more aesthetic feel to it.

Looking from the beautiful blade, Jaune saw the sheath was a dark red color and frowned as he realized it didn’t turn into the shield, something that Zubora noticed.

“Oh don’t worry we worked on your shield too, but it can’t be turned into a sheath anymore,” Zubora said with an apologetic look. “We changed too much for it to work like that.”

“I understand.” Jaune said with a sigh, sheathing the new sword before realizing that it was too long to be at his waist, so he secured it to his back.

That was when Gabora handed him the shield.

It was the same shape as before, only the outer edges were nothing but gold leaving only the middle part white in the form of a triangle, allowing for the Arc family symbol to still remain in the middle of the triangle.

“You won’t find a weapon stronger than this very easily.” Zubora explained to Jaune who gazed over the shield. “The gold dust strengthened your sword to be unbreakable and very sharp, it will never lose its edge. And with the rest of the dust on the edges of the shield it will double as a weapon, be careful of the sides.”

“Amazing.” Jaune whispered just imagining how he would be able to use it.

Zubora gave a hearty chuckle, watching as Jaune adjusted the shield to go across his back. “Nice to see you appreciate our work, if anyone asks where you got a masterpiece like that be sure to let them know it was us,” He said as while they did this one for free to repay Jaune, he did want to make some business. “Use the Gilded Sword and Gilded Shield with pride.”

Jaune gave a nod, his smile forced but he did plan to do that should they defeat Skull Kid-.

Wait Gilded Sword and Gilded Shield?

Okay it was obviously no longer Crocea Mors, but Jaune wasn’t so sure about the name until he thought about it.

Gilded’s meaning was attractive, yet deceptive which was what the sword in itself was with its appearance being amazing, most swords looking like that wouldn’t be effective but he had a feeling that this sword is an exception. Gilded was also another word for Mask and given how Termina’s Culture revolves around masks for different occasions and how much their society builds on it, it does make sense if one thinks about it enough.

* * *

** _~Night of the Final Day~_ **

** _-Twelve Hours Remain-_ **

Jaune was back in Clock Town, trying to get used to the new weight of his upgraded weapon on his back before he would restart the cycle.

“Well this was a productive cycle.” Tatl said, trying to sound upbeat despite the imminent destruction of the moon getting closer and closer.

“You’re telling me.” Jaune said shaking his head with some disbelief at everything that happened.

What should’ve been just freeing the second Giant turned into helping a spirit pass on to get a second transformation mask, getting an item to see through illusions, upgrading his sword and shield, winning a race and getting a second bottle in the process which meant he could have more potions, getting a spell to shoot fire arrows and getting bracelets that grant super strength.

Not that he was complaining because his already growing arsenal of gear just got bigger, but he was definitely going to wait a bit before the next Temple.

“So do you think I should go for more sword techniques?” Jaune asked curiously as he’s itching to test out his new Gilded Sword. “It would help me get used to the new reach and weight.”

“How about we just relax for a few cycles first?” Tatl suggested with Jaune blinking in surprise. “Both of us could use the time to unwind.”

Jaune had a nagging suspicion this had something to do with him having nightmares, but he didn’t argue.

Perhaps some relaxing would do him some good.

** _To Be Continued…_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright we finally finished up with Snowhead Mountain so Jaune is halfway through Termina right now and yes I replaced the Powder Keg with the Golden Bracelets, I figured it would help separate this from the game a bit more because honestly who in their right minds would go through the testing phase of the Powder Keg?
> 
> Sorry for the race not being too interesting but I couldn’t think of how to make it more interesting with what I had to work with from the game, heck naming some of the other racers took too much time in itself.
> 
> And yes Crocea Mors is now officially the Gilded Sword because that sword is awesome in itself and Jaune was in need of a good upgrade.


	11. Triggered Memories

** _~Night of the Second Day~_ **

** _-Thirty-Six Hours Remain-_ **

Jaune gritted his teeth as he was locked in a wooden sword struggle against the Swordsman who looked impressed with the skill that Jaune had with a blade. Tatl was currently out and about in Clock Town, possibly looking into information for the Ocean as that was where they intended to go next after a bit more training.

It’s been a few cycles since he and Tatl freed the second giant and after one cycle of rest, Jaune found himself bored to death. So much that he realized that he was so used to doing something, whether it was training, exploring or going through the temples that he found himself unable to do something as simple as resting for any of the three days.

At this rate, he’ll be unable to sit still at any time in Remnant whenever he gets back and that had Jaune worried.

So he kept himself busy by getting to know the Town a bit more.

He met a weird Postman who seemed to really love his job, a pair of twins that did nothing but dance. A rude guy who seemed to be in charge of a band that looked like they weren’t coming at all to the Carnival of Time.

Jaune kept writing events that transpired in the Bombers Notebook, making a bit of a schedule of what each person did on what day.

He’ll admit it was kind of creepy, but it kept him busy.

There were even rumors of stuff he wrote down to look into later to sate his boredom while training.

Some sort of cursed house that was hidden in the swamp along with a fishing hole and rumors of an archery game hosted by Koume of all people.

Probably won’t do that but he had it written down… He also wrote down the lottery numbers for the three days as a way to easily get Rupees whenever he needed them.

Sure it was cheating, but he wouldn’t be keeping them when he rewinds time, so it didn’t really matter.

“Good form, but you’re leaning to your left too much,” The Swordsman said before kicking Jaune’s feet out from underneath him. “You show a lot of promise, especially with knowing the Shield Attack and Ending Blow, I commend whoever taught you them.”

Jaune chuckled as the Swordsman helped him up. “Yeah, my teacher is pretty good.” He said, feeling sad that the Swordsman didn’t remember, but he wasn’t bothered by it as much as he once was.

He was used to it by now.

“However you still have much to learn,” The Swordsman gripped his wooden blade in anticipation. “So I’ll teach you a new skill if you wish.”

Jaune gave an eager nod, always up for improving his swordsmanship.

“Now attack me, but follow my movements carefully.” The Swordsman said with Jaune lunging at him.

Even though he knew that this would most likely end up with him on the ground again, he was willing to take that to add to his skills.

To his surprise, he saw the Swordsman do a side jump, followed by a roll behind Jaune who was too slow to turn, when the Swordsman shot to his feet with a spin attack that sent Jaune flying.

“As important as your skill with the Shield Attack is, you’ll at times face opponents who are protected with very thick heavy armor, but they leave their back’s unprotected at times,” The Swordsman explained as Jaune jumped to his feet with a grin. “With that said, the Back Slice is a very important skill to know for those types of situations.”

“I see.” Jaune muttered before he remembered the first day he trained with the Swordsman he actually did a variation of the Back Slice, only it was just by dodging.

Yet he never tried to do that with any other enemy.

So he got ready and when the Swordsman lunged at Jaune, he perfectly mirrored the dodging portion and managed to hit the Swordsman by jumping up with a spin to his feet.

The Swordsman was too much in shock to even think about dodging and was thrown by the force of the hit across the room.

“Sir?!” Jaune asked in a bit of a panic not expecting that, but he was surprised when the man began to laugh.

“Well I never,” He said pushing himself back up with a wince. “A perfect Back Slice, on the first try?! That’s never happened before. Are you certain that you never learned that?”

“Positive.” Jaune said, feeling relieved that the man was okay, but proud at actually pulling the move off on the first try compared to before when it took him a whole day to learn how to dodge properly.

Though having the Swordsman swing a wooden sword at him certainly helped motivate him at the time.

“You will definitely go far with your skills, you just need to practice more before we can have a full on spar.” The Swordsman said with a sad look in his eyes. “I don’t have anything more to teach you though, it’s a shame I would’ve loved to have you for an apprentice.”

‘ _ N-No more to teach me? _ ’ Jaune thought in shock.

The man already taught Jaune everything he knew?

“But I thought you knew a ton of techniques.” Jaune found himself saying before he could stop himself.

“I never said that,” The Swordsman sounded wistful when he answered. “I might be a sword master, but there was no teacher for me but books and scrolls on certain skills which is how the person who taught you must’ve learned them. There were countless sword skills in the past, however they were lost when the Ikana Kingdom fell many centuries ago.”

‘ _ Ikana Kingdom? _ ’ Jaune thought, actually hearing of that place in his study of Termina.

According to the history books, Clock Town rose when the Kingdom fell, as a huge war took place there with hundreds of people dying, the survivors fleeing to take sanctuary before building the town.

It does make sense that a lot was lost in that type of situation and while Jaune was saddened at not learning any more sword skills, he didn’t let that bother him.

He already learned a lot and the fact that this man self taught himself these moves was impressive. And now he knew the exact same skills, he just needs more experience before he could call himself a Sword Master.

Perhaps there were techniques in Remnant he could learn when he gets back to add to his skills?

… Or perhaps he might be able to find something in the Ruins of the Ikana Kingdom?

It is in the Canyon where one of the last two Giants remain, so he’ll be heading there eventually. He’ll just have to keep his eyes peeled whenever he gets there.

* * *

“Wait, so the Ocean’s temperature is rising?” Jaune asked in surprise, not expecting that as he met up with Tatl near the Stock Pot Inn.

“Yeah, with the temperature rising, life in the Ocean is being killed off and with the water being murky, it’s dangerous to travel there.” Tatl explained with Jaune grimacing at hearing that.

A Poisoned Swamp. A Neverending Blizzard in the Mountain and now a soon to be boiling Ocean?

What would the Canyon be like?

Shaking that thought from his head, Jaune tried to think of a way to traverse the Ocean, perhaps he could find a ship or if it comes down to it he could build a raft?

Though he would need practice on that front. Luckily he has all the time in the world with his situation.

Jaune glanced up at the sky, ignoring the moon due to much needed practice and just stared at the stars.

“So, do you want to check out that cursed house in the Swamp?” Jaune asked curiously with a grin, his eyes lighting up at the idea of exploring a bit, being a seasoned adventurer at this point.

“I swear you’re just looking for trouble now.” Tatl muttered to herself while Jaune laughed.

“As long as it’s not connected to the Temple we’re fine.” Jaune reminded her as the temples were the only place they actually faced true danger compared to other places.

“Heh, fair enough.” Tatl relented knowing that he was right in that respect.

With it going quiet, Jaune did something he’s been doing regularly since the adventure in Snowhead.

Going through his gear to make sure everything was in order.

Though his eyes lingered on the Deku and Goron Mask the most.

It was probably nothing, but Jaune has been having a rather scary thought about them.

Out of all of his masks they were the only Transformation Mask, but with how the Goron Mask came to be with the soul of Darmani, he was wondering if the same held true for the Deku Mask?

The fact that it had memories of where the Woodfall Temple was and how it changed his personality supported that, but if it was the same thing, that meant that Skull Kid’s manipulation throughout Termina resulted in the death of a young child.

It was only a theory right now, but if it was true then Jaune had no idea how he would be able to respond to it. It would however explain the actions of the Deku Butler when Jaune wore this around him.

… Great, now he’s depressed.

He was actually considering putting on the Deku Mask because the more he used it, the more he saw that the childish mindset it had actually helped cheer him up a bit, no matter how dark this journey got.

It reminded him of being a kid again, one full of hopes and dreams, playing make believe of being a hero, holding a stick just like how one would a sword while his older sisters indulged him for all these years. An innocent time that he could barely remember now.

Even if it was forced on him and he was humiliated by it during the first cycle, Jaune found himself grateful in a funny way for meeting the spirit inside of the Deku Mask.

Jaune chuckled, catching Tatl’s attention. “Something funny?” Tatl asked curiously.

“No, just thinking of the first cycle,” Jaune answered, finding how he acted in the beginning both amusing and mortifying. “How long has it been?”

Tatl hummed in thought before flying around Jaune. “To be honest, I don’t know,” She said in a bit of a regretful tone. “It’s certainly been awhile.”

That it has.

Putting away the transformation masks, Jaune forced himself to smile.

No matter what, all he could do was move on, it won’t be easy and no doubt the rest of this journey might push him past his breaking point, but when that time came he won’t be alone.

Just like that, the smile became a real one when he looked at Tatl, who glowed in confusion from how he was acting while he pulled the hood of his hoodie up, something he’s started doing as of late.

Instead of continuing the conversation, Jaune just jerked his head to the side before he took off running. “Come on, if we go now we should make it to the swamp by morning!”

Surprised by that act, Tatl took off flying after him. “Can’t you just teleport there?!” She asked, not getting why he wanted to get there on foot.

“Where’s the fun in that?” Jaune returned with a laugh. “Who knows what we might find on the way!”

As he ran, he couldn’t help but be amazed at how something so simple as laughing felt great.

** _~Dawn of the Third Day~_ **

** _-Twenty-Four Hours Remain-_ **

“Have to admit, this does look a bit creepy.” Jaune commented with the Bunny Hood on his head, using it to at least have some decent speed throughout the Swamp.

It looked like some sort of beehive like building if he was being honest and Jaune was surprised by how close to the Deku Palace this was considering he could literally see the gated fence from here.

While he contemplated that, Tatl flew towards the sign before tensing up. “Skulltula House?!”

That made Jaune blink as he didn’t know it was called that, he just heard about it being cursed.

“Er you want to wait out here?” Jaune offered knowing how much she disliked Skulltulas.

Honestly he wouldn’t blame her since he wouldn’t want to go anywhere near something that would try to eat him.

But Tatl shook her head, not letting her fear of them stop her from accompanying Jaune through the place.

After all, someone had to make sure he didn’t take insane risks.

The creepiness factor of the Skulltula House went up as they entered, but Jaune didn’t seem to mind it considering it reminded him of the Woodfall Temple-why was a dog here?

Seeing him, the dog barked and ran over, panting with his tail wagging exuberantly.

Though he was hesitant, no doubt remembering the last dog he encountered as a Deku Scrub, Jaune reached down and rubbed the dog’s head earning a whine of affection from him.

“Hey boy, what are you doing out here by yourself?” Jaune curiously asked, a bit worried before a voice was heard.

“He’s mine.” Looking towards the voice, expecting to see a Terminan or at least a Deku, Jaune immediately got into action with drawing his sword at seeing a Skulltula with some sort of red and white mask covering the front.

The red and white had his mind flashback to seeing the Grimm that one of his sisters dispatched with ease while Tatl quickly put some distance between her and the Skulltula as it was near her.

Seeing Jaune with his weapon, the Skulltula did something he didn’t expect.

It panicked.

“W-Wait I’m not a monster, please don’t kill me.” The Skulltula spoke with Jaune pausing before he heard the dog whine as if pleading the same thing.

Against his better judgement, Jaune sheathed his weapon, giving the Skulltula a chance as he’s never seen a talking one before, while Tatl made sure to be behind Jaune.

“You’re seriously listening to that thing?!” Tatl asked in shock. “I’m not risking being eaten.”

“Do they normally talk?” Jaune asked with Tatl going quiet at that. “Then something isn’t right.”

“Because I’m not a Skulltula,” The being said, catching their attention, his tone sounding immensely relieved. “The Spider’s curse made me this way, I’ve been stuck here ever since I’ve been cursed.”

“... Was the one who cursed you an imp wearing a purple mask?” Jaune asked, a deadpanned look going across his face as the cursed man moved up and down as if saying yes. “I don’t know why I’m still surprised at this point.”

Tatl sighed in agreement. “At this point it would be a surprise if he wasn’t responsible in some way to something going on around here.”

Looking back at the cursed man, Jaune thought about what to do before he snapped his fingers in realization.

This man was cursed just like he was in the beginning. So there was one song to help him.

With that in mind, Jaune pulled the Ocarina out and began to play the Song of Healing.

Needless to say the cursed man moved a bit, confused by why this teenager pulled an Ocarina out. “W-What are you-?” He began, only to twitch as he felt weird.

A second later the spider was gone as the man himself looked normal enough, his face covered by a white mask with the red lines and yellow eye on it, wearing a sleeveless green shirt and pants.

“I-I’m back to normal?” The guy asked in surprise, not expecting that before laughing. “I’m normal again!”

Jumping in joy, the man looked right at Jaune who put the Ocarina away, happy that it worked.

“Thank you, I owe you a lot.” The man took the mask off and handed it over to Jaune. “I know it’s not much, but please accept this.”

Jaune smiled politely at the guy as he accepted the mask before the guy ran out cheering, the dog following him.

“How did you know the Song of Healing would work?” Tatl asked once the man was gone.

“I guessed.” Jaune answered with a shrug. “It worked for me when I was a Deku and for that Kamaro guy, so I figured it would work here.”

Pocketing the mask, Jaune turned to fully explore the Skulltula House.

* * *

“Well that was pointless.” Tatl muttered with them leaving after finding nothing inside of the Skulltula House.

“I don’t know, we did get a mask, any idea what this one is?” Jaune asked, pulling it out as Tatl gave it a curious look.

“I-... I have no clue what type of mask this one is,” Tatl hummed in thought before ringing as an idea came to her. “Perhaps the Masked Salesman will know?”

Jaune hesitated, unsure about approaching the man as despite how the man did help him regain his human form there was something about him that had Jaune uneasy.

But he forced that down as information was more important.

* * *

“I see.” The Masked Salesman had a curious look while Jaune showed him the new mask he gained. “This is quite an interesting mask, unfortunately it’s not the one I’m looking for.”

“I know, but I want to know if you know what mask this is,” Jaune said relieved that the man wasn’t freaking out like he did last time. “I’m still working towards getting the mask but a lot of stuff has been happening.”

The Salesman gazed at Jaune scrutinizingly before nodding. “Indeed it has,” He said as if he knew exactly what was going on with the blonde. “You’ve made quite a bit of progress since we last spoke. As for this mask, it’s the Mask of Truth.”

“Mask of Truth?” Tatl whispered in confusion before asking louder. “Is it related to the Lens of Truth?”

“Ah you have the Lens? Well done young one,” The Salesman smiled widely, praising the teen. “Though they are powered the same, the Mask has different abilities.”

Jaune waited for the man to continue before sighing. “Such as?”

“With it on you can see into the minds and hearts of people and animals, using it will make them unable to lie to you,” The Masked Salesman’s explanation made Jaune stiffen up as he realized the power this particular mask had. “Quite frightening isn’t it? To know that your own thoughts are at risk when faced with a mask such as this.”

After a moment of silence Jaune spoke. “Any type of power is frightening if looked at long enough, it’s how it’s used that makes the difference.”

That was something he learned over the course of his journey.

The Song of Healing has the frightening power of sealing souls into masks, but it can be used to put them to rest instead. And people could take advantage of the Song of Time to do whatever they want with no consequences.

Jaune himself has felt the urge to take advantage of the latter every now and then just do anything he wanted, but he ignored it because of the bigger threat with Skull Kid.

And because he didn’t want to fall down that path. He can’t afford to let himself misuse the Ocarina like that after everything that’s happened.

The Salesman just smiled at Jaune. “Indeed.”

** _~Dawn of the Second Day~_ **

** _-Forty-Eight Hours Remain-_ **

It’s been five cycles since that conversation with the Masked Salesman and Jaune was currently a Deku, practicing his flight a bit more, having increased the time he could stay in the air with quite a bit of practice after finding some Deku Flowers out in the Field.

As he’s been practicing whatever he could, he decided to spend the next few days working on both the Deku and Goron form to make them more efficient in case he needed to rely on those forms when the time came.

Plus his control over magic was also getting better as a Scrub due to how he can make the Snot Bubbles and shoot them at a quicker rate and as a Goron he could make the spikes while rolling last longer.

That had the added benefit of his Human form having more control, especially with the Gilded Sword being used as a focus to help.

“Vhoa!” Jaune cried out as the flowers he was using to fly gave out and he landed on his butt, wincing a bit.

“Hm, you were up there for two minutes, that’s an improvement.” Tatl commented while Jaune got up, rubbing his wooden butt.

“Dat’s good,” Jaune’s hole quirked to show a grin. “But I vant to make it five minutes eventually.”

“Why five minutes?” Tatl asked flying around Jaune curiously while he took the Deku Mask off. “Wouldn’t that be too much time in the air?”

“I’d rather not take any chances,” Jaune said, rolling his shoulders, feeling them pop. “Especially if I see any bottomless floors again.”

Falling to your death after surviving the craziness of the Woodfall and Snowhead Temple would be a pretty pathetic way to go in Jaune’s opinion, so he wants to ensure it doesn’t happen.

Plus he enjoyed flying now that he didn’t seem to have his Motion Sickness. Thank you Magic!

Wait would it still work when he’s Human or does he still have Motion Sickness as a Human when flying? He’ll have to see about that but he’s really hoping it’s gone.

Someday though he might be able to have his Deku Form be able to fly even longer as the book he read on Deku Biology showed that adult Dekus could stay in the air for hours at a time if they need to.

And the Deku Butler was able to fly with just an umbrella back when Jaune purified the Swamp during their race, so there was so much potential that Jaune has yet to tap into.

But that did leave the question on if the Deku Form would age or not.

Jaune really wanted the answer to that, but he wouldn’t be able to find out for quite awhile.

‘ _ I should look into getting a weapon for this form. _ ’ Jaune thought as his Deku Form was the only one weaponless if you didn’t count the head spike he had going on.

The Goron Form could use the Iron Hammer and was very efficient in hand to hand while his Human Form could use just about every weapon he has on him.

“So I see you’re training?”

That single voice made both Jaune and Tatl freeze in shock as they turned to see Skull Kid looking down at them.

Silence descended around them while both Jaune and Tatl were completely dumbfounded.

This has never happened before.

Skull Kid tilted his head to the side before he began to chuckle. “You looked shocked.”

Suddenly he was right next to Jaune with the teen quickly putting some distance between them. “Vot do you vant?!” He demanded with his words becoming a bit of a jumbled mess in his panic.

Skull Kid looked at him with a tilted head. “You certainly learned to talk fast.”

Just like that Jaune remembered that Skull Kid didn’t know about the time loops and he knew he couldn’t let on.

If Skull Kid learned about them, chances were that he would kill them without a second thought and he can’t let that happen when they’re only halfway done.

But why was he suddenly talking to them?

Looking at Skull Kid, Jaune realized something he never considered.

The whole time he assumed Skull Kid would stay in the Clock Tower for the remaining three days, of course he wouldn’t. Just like everyone else Skull Kid most likely had a schedule he followed and he accidentally interfered with it by being here.

“Where’s Tael?!” Tatl suddenly got in Skull Kid’s face, worried at not seeing her brother with him.

Instead of just killing her or slapping her away, Skull Kid just idly poked Tatl away with his finger. “Man when did you get so demanding Tatl?” He asked in a childish tone. “I don’t know where he is currently, what do I look like, his keeper?”

A tone so unlike the last time they conversed. It was as if he was just playing around, like this is a game and that the world wasn’t ending. But from what Jaune knew, Skull Kid only saw the inhabitants of Termina as well as Jaune himself as nothing more than toys to torment and then to kill when he’s bored of them.

Skull Kid then tilted his head. “Speaking of which, when did you two get so chummy with each other?”

While Tatl spluttered at that, Jaune tensed.

This was his chance.

He could end this right now by getting that mask off. All of the nightmares. All of the suffering. If he gets that mask off, it would be over.

He was already moving before he finished his thoughts, lunging at him, but Skull Kid seemed to be expecting that as he idly moved out of the way and grabbed Jaune out of the air.

“Now that was rude, can’t you see I’m conversing with an old friend?” Skull Kid asked only to receive a Snot Bubble to the face making him gag as he threw Jaune quite the distance away. “Oh that does it.”

Readying an energy bolt, Skull Kid lazily shot it at Jaune showing he wasn’t taking him seriously, while said blonde had flashbacks to Tael dying, but he quickly reacted by taking the Deku Mask off and blocking it with the Gilded Shield.

Skull Kid tensed at seeing that. “You already broke the curse?” He asked in a curious fashion. “This might actually be fun.”

‘ _ Why is he acting so different? _ ’ Jaune thought unsheathing his sword with Skull Kid taking note of how different his weapon looked, seeing that Jaune had been busy.

‘ _ Interesting, how much has he actually accomplished in a day? _ ’ Skull Kid thought with a smirk, readying himself.

“Jaune we need to get out of here.” Tatl flew to him, hissing in his ear.

“If I pull the Ocarina out, he’ll know something is up,” Jaune whispered back, not wanting it to get stolen again.

Skull Kid didn’t waste anymore time as he shot at Jaune who swung at him only to have the sword go through an after-image. The blond barely recognized that right before he heard energy crackling behind him leaving for him to quickly turn around actually pulling off the Shield Attack to knock the energy bolt back at Skull Kid.

“You’re good,” Skull Kid was now frowning when he ducked, the energy flying past him. “Something’s not right, you shouldn’t be this good.”

After all he clearly remembered how pitiful the blonde was before he cursed him, yet here he was holding his own, even if Skull Kid was admittedly holding back to have some fun.

Jaune tensed, knowing this was bad.

“Still no matter how good you’ve gotten you know you can’t win.” Just like that his tone changed to how he was the last time they met. “You only have one day left after all.”

“Just like I said before I’ll stop you!” Jaune exclaimed without thinking and that made Skull Kid pause.

“Before?”

Jaune’s eyes widened at his slip.

Crap, why did he say that?!

“Jaune you idiot.” Tatl hissed while Skull Kid held his head feeling a slight headache.

Before?

‘ _ I von’t let you! _ ’

‘ _ I’ll stop you. _ ’

Just like that, images of him glancing down at the Deku form of this teenager while holding the Ocarina flashed through his head.

The Ocarina… Shouldn’t he have it right now?

Glancing down at his hand where it should be, Skull Kid idly clenched it in thought.

“Wait.” Skull Kid muttered looking at Jaune in a tensed fashion as if reevaluating him before placing a hand on his mask, his head pounding as images flashed. “We fought before… Tomorrow we did. But that’s impossible.”

‘ _ The memories are coming back to him?! _ ’ Jaune had no clue that would happen.

It’s never happened before.

Slowly he remembered and the eyes on the mask began to glow ominously. “What are you?” He demanded in a cold tone, no longer playing around.

He became a blur with Jaune barely putting the shield up to block a punch that nearly sent him flying. His arms ached from that hit, showing that if he didn’t have the Power Bracelets Skull Kid would’ve broken his arm.

Seeing as how the block actually stunned Skull Kid, Jaune quickly retaliated with a swing of his sword, actually cutting Skull Kid who barely dodged it, now holding his side, seeing Jaune as an immediate threat to his plans.

He made a connection as more memories flooded his head after Jaune got his Ocarina back in the first cycle.

He remembered feeling the swamp being purified, but he laughed at the futile gesture that Jaune wouldn’t be able to stop him.

Then again he felt the Blizzard on Snowhead being stopped on the second day but like before he laughed it off because he didn’t remember the swamp.

“You’re cheating.” Skull Kid whispered as dark energy began to encompass him, the force of the energy making Jaune take a step back as he felt cold just by looking at it.

It was like staring into an abyss, he could barely breathe.

Skull Kid took solace in the fact that he could see Jaune’s fear, but he was angry. No beyond angry.

Skull Kid was pissed.

This boy was somehow rewinding time, most likely with the Ocarina. Taking as much time as he needed until things went the way he wanted and he had two Giants free. Somehow this insignificant Human survived for so long without Skull Kid noticing, probably laughing behind his back the whole time.

No more waiting.

Looking up, Skull Kid screamed no longer caring for toying with Jaune as raw power began to course out of him.

He was going to make the Moon fall right now.

Seeing what he was doing, Jaune quickly pulled out the Ocarina only for Skull Kid to fire another blast that he had to dodge as it impacted the ground creating an explosion.

“Not this time!” Skull Kid hissed at Jaune as the shock wave of the explosion knocked him off his feet showing that he was no longer holding back.

That was proven when his eyes glowed as lasers fired.

“Lasers?!” Jaune shouted, managing to block them with his shield as they were reflected, leaving a trail of fire in the ground. “Now he has lasers?!”

“Please tell me you have a plan!” Tatl pleaded looking up to see the Moon was already beginning to break orbit.

“For now it’s not dying!” Jaune shouted back at how quickly this escalated and cursing himself for his lapse of judgement.

In his rush to end this he might’ve just doomed Termina, this was proof that he needed to free the last two giants before confronting Skull Kid because he was barely keeping up.

Skull Kid began to teleport around Jaune until he was suddenly in front of him, kicking up right at his chin, sending him flying into the air right before teleporting above Jaune with his hands glowing but Jaune blocked it with his shield only for the Ocarina to get knocked out of his hand and go flying across the field.

That distracted Jaune long enough for Skull Kid to fire another laser with it going right through his shoulder as the smell of burning flesh began to assault Jaune’s nose right before Skull Kid hit him with enough force to practically shatter his armor and break two ribs as he was sent into the ground, rolling towards the hollow log where he slammed into it hard enough to crack it.

Coughing up some blood, Jaune got up only for Skull Kid to begin teleporting again.

Knowing he didn’t have much time, he quickly put on the Goron Mask and managed to grab him out of the air before slamming him into the log, breaking that part of it.

Skull Kid only gave a creepy chuckle, showing how little that hurt him, actually having the time of his life now that he didn’t have to worry about Jaune rewinding time with that Ocarina.

“A Goron Form? You’re full of surprises!” Raw power coursed off of him, the force of it blasting Jaune back. “Show me more!”

Instead of landing, he just curled up into a ball and rolled away from Skull Kid, using his echolocation to try and find the Ocarina.

The Moon was getting much closer, they barely had a minute before it would hit.

Jaune barely found it and grabbed it, ripping the Goron Mask off only to jump back, doing a backflip right as Skull Kid slammed into the ground with energy exploding off of him.

“Do you honestly think I’m going to let you rewind time again?!” Skull Kid asked aiming an energy bolt at the Ocarina before Tatl flew into his face to distract him, only to be backhanded away by Skull Kid in time for him to fire the bolt at Jaune.

Instead of standing there however, Jaune drew the Gilded Sword and dove out of the way, rolling until he was behind Skull Kid to pull off a Back Slice, making him cry out as it cut him before he threw a Deku Nut to stun him.

Seeing him stunned, Jaune quickly placed the Bunny Hood on and took off running, grabbing the dazed Tatl in the process.

The Moon was beginning to crush the Clock Tower and he could hear screams coming from the town as Jaune quickly raised the Ocarina to his lips and he began to play the Song of Time.

Turning as Jaune did so, Skull Kid growled and fired one last energy bolt that managed to pierce Jaune’s back right as he hit the last note.

** _~Dawn of the First Day~_ **

** _-Seventy-Two Hours Remain-_ **

Both Jaune and Tatl collapsed as they appeared outside of the Clock Tower looking very exhausted from that whole ordeal.

“Okay, let’s both agree to not do that again.” Tatl said after taking a few moments to catch her breath only to not hear an answer.

Feeling worried, she turned only to see blood pooling around Jaune and her concern for the blonde went up.

“Jaune! Come on get up, drink a po-,” She went to tell him to drink a potion only to realize that they didn’t have one. “No come on, we have to get to the Fairy Fountain.”

When he didn’t answer, Tatl was horrified, only feeling relief when she saw that he was still breathing before she flew up.

“Help!” She finally shouted, trying to get the attention of the Townspeople to try and help while Jaune passed out. “Someone! Anyone! We need medical attention!”

…

…

…

Consciousness returned to Jaune as he found himself in a bed, his hoodie and armor-or rather what was left of it to the side while his chest and stomach were completely wrapped up with bandages.

“What happened?” Jaune muttered a bit out of it before seeing his hoodie folded up on a nearby table, though he was more concerned about being in an unknown room. “Tatl?”

Not hearing an answer from his Fairy Companion, Jaune sat up, grimacing in pain from how his body was protesting his movements.

But he pushed through it until he had his feet on the floor and pushed to stand up, only to fall to his knees, gasping for breath.

He was too focused on the pain to hear the footsteps before the door opened where Jaune heard a rather young sounding voice. “You shouldn’t be moving!”

Looking up, Jaune was surprised to find what looked to be a child wearing a yellow fox-like mask with hints of blue hair sticking out, carrying a fresh roll of bandages while wearing a purple tunic looking thing. “Who-?”

“Not important, come on.” The young boy said placing a hand on Jaune’s arms to help him up, though he was having a bit of a difficult time which led for Jaune to wonder how this kid got him here to begin with.

Still he placed his other hand back on the bed to give the kid a hand and by the time he was back to sitting on the bed, sweat was on his face along with his stomach in knots.

“You need a bucket?” The kid asked, seeing his expression, thinking he was going to puke, but the blonde shook his head. “Suit yourself.”

Refocusing on the kid, Jaune actually recognized him.

Every single time he restarted the cycle this kid would always place a letter in the mailbox before running off towards the Laundry Pool, never talking to anyone.

Yet here he was helping Jaune despite how they never interacted before. “Where’s Tatl?”

“Your Fairy Companion is currently trying to lead a Stray Fairy to the Fairy Fountain,” The boy said dryly, despite how he had no idea why she was doing this. “She should be back soon, now stop moving so I can get these bandages changed, you’ve been out for a whole day.”

Jaune jerked a bit as he realized it was the second day only for the kid to slap his arm because of that.

“I said not to move, if you jerk like that, you’ll reopen the wounds.” The kid said a bit harshly. “It was a pain to even get you here to be treated in the first place.”

Jaune gave an apologetic look to the kid. “Why not get a Health Potion?”

“Health Potions aren’t miracle workers, you have too many wounds for one to work and even then you need to take them in a certain time that you get the wound depending on its severity.” The kid answered with Jaune blinking in confusion, not knowing that.

That would’ve been useful to know earlier.

So after a few seconds, Jaune spoke up again while the old bandages were removed to show some pretty bad burns on his shoulder and stomach which would no doubt leave more scars. “So what’s your name?”

“You ask a lot of questions.” The kid glanced up at Jaune when he said that before grabbing a new role of bandages.

Jaune went to shrug only to remember he shouldn’t do that. “Well not like I can do much else.”

That actually got a chuckle out of the kid. “Fair enough… Call me Keaton.”

“Nice to meet you, I’m-.”

“Jaune, yeah your Fairy said your name, she’s pretty worried about you,” Keaton said with Jaune looking rather sheepish before he finished tightening the bandages up, making the blonde grimace in pain. “So what happened to you?”

That question made Jaune frown as his mind was a bit fuzzy before it all came back to him.

At how Skull Kid nearly killed him when he stopped playing around, though Jaune did give as good as he got he knew that unlike him, Skull Kid won’t keep the injuries which was pretty unfair in his opinion.

“Let’s just say I ticked off the wrong imp.” Jaune said a bit cryptically, but Keaton froze.

“Skull Kid?” He asked with clear hatred in his tone which confused Jaune but he nodded. “What is with that damn imp, he keeps causing trouble.”

“Yeah, he robbed me of my Ocarina the other day but I managed to get it back, everything else is a bit fuzzy.” Jaune said trying to play it off as his injuries messed with his memories.

That would be easier to believe then time travel.

“Right, well you just need to take it easy for the next few days,” Keaton explained before he handed Jaune his hoodie which was torn a bit. “I had it cleaned, but I don’t know anything about fixing this.”

“It’s fine.” Jaune said, giving Keaton a grateful look while he pulled the hoodie on, without the armor one could see the bunny emblem on the front.

“You should be able to move by tomorrow, just keep off your feet for today.” Keaton warned Jaune before leaving to throw the old bandages out.

“That kid is pretty mature for his age.” Jaune couldn’t help but say, feeling a bit tired as he laid his head back down, feeling like he was laying in a marshmallow.

It’s been so long since he slept in a bed, he didn’t want to get back up now that he knew where he was.

** _~Dawn of the Third Day~_ **

** _-Twenty-Four Hours Remain-_ **

Jaune didn’t even know how long he was out after that before he opened his eyes to see Tatl floating around nervously, the fairy moving towards him right as soon as he woke up. “You okay?” She asked in concern.

“I’m fine, just a bit sore-,” Jaune went to say only to pause. “Were you watching me sleep?”

Tatl spluttered as her light shined a bit brighter from embarrassment, making Jaune squint his eyes from how bright she was being. “I think after what happened I’m entitled to make sure you’re still breathing!” She finally said turning around in a huff while Jaune gave a sheepish chuckle, wincing from that.

“Sorry, still a bit out of it.” Jaune apologized as he sat up again.

It was definitely a lot easier than last time, but he still felt pain from the movement.

“How did it go with getting the Stray Fairy to the Fountain?”

“Took a bit, but I managed it.” Tatl turned back to give Jaune a look. “She wanted to speak with you after what happened, think you can make it?”

Jaune gave a nod and pushed himself to stand up before grabbing the armor to place back on his hoodie.

Even if it was shredded, it was still good to keep it for now.

After the medicine and rest it didn’t hurt as bad, besides once he’s in the Fairy Fountain no doubt he’ll be healed.

Best to get there as soon as possible.

Much to his surprise, he didn’t see Keaton anywhere, just a note saying he was going to be gone for the day to take care of something important.

It was good so he could leave without too much of a fuss.

* * *

“I see, he regained his memories?” The Great Fairy asked with a frown on her face from that piece of bad news while Jaune was just happy that the Fairy Fountain was helping him heal up.

“Yeah, how did that happen?” Jaune asked, wanting some answers on that front.

It hasn’t happened with the other people he interacted with, so what made Skull Kid so special?

The Great Fairy was silent for a moment, crossing her arms as she floated sideways before glancing at Jaune. “It’s possible the mask had a hand in it.” She said with Jaune’s eyes widening.

Of course, it makes sense that the Mask that allows for Skull Kid to go genocidal might have something to do with his memories.

“But if that’s the case, wouldn’t he have remembered during the first few cycles?” Tatl asked in a confused manner.

Jaune stilled.

That was honestly a good point.

The Great Fairy cupped her chin before another theory came to her. “Perhaps it has something to do with you?”

Now she lost Jaune.

Seeing his confused expression, the Great Fairy elaborated. “The way you time travel, it’s like a clean slate for you every time in Termina unless it’s one of the Giants or the other Great Fairies,” She explained with Jaune nodding to confirm that. “Has there been any instances where someone acted differently than they did before despite meeting you the same way?”

Jaune was about to say no before he remembered that one time he went to the Swordsman for the lessons when he learned the Ending Blow and Shield Attack.

‘ _ Hold on, have we met somewhere before? _ ’

It seemed his face was showing his answer with the Great Fairy nodding. “Memories are a tricky thing to deal with, especially with magic involved,” She revealed to Jaune. “Perhaps the more you reset the more that the people of Termina deal with Deja-Vu?”

“That’s pretty interesting,” Tatl looked rather thoughtful at this theory, flying up in the air. “So there’s a chance that some people will remember a past cycle? Could there be a trigger for them?”

“... Is it possible Skull Kid could become immune to the resets?” Jaune asked, that horrifying realization coming to him.

If he could remember a past cycle there was a chance that he could become immune to them.

Tatl froze in fear, not even thinking about that while the Great Fairy frowned. “That I cannot answer,” She said, showing she didn’t know. “You’ve spent a year already doing these resets, so it’s possible the longer you do this the more of a chance that’ll happen.”

“It’s been a year?!” Jaune asked, not expecting that.

It actually felt longer than that.

“That means we need to do the last two temples as soon as possible.” Tatl said, now fearful of the idea that they won’t be able to use the rewinds to escape Skull Kid.

It seems that this last run in, instilled a well justified fear of him.

Jaune gave a nod, a serious look going across his face. “So we’re heading for the Ocean-.”

“I wouldn’t advise that.”

Slowly both Jaune and Tatl glanced at the Great Fairy in disbelief.

“You wouldn’t advise that?” Jaune repeated, unable to believe what he was hearing as he threw his hands out in frustration. “You just said that Skull Kid could remember the other cycles the more it goes on, that means we need to do them as quickly as we can!”

Instead of answering, the Great Fairy floated closer to Jaune before using a finger to poke him, jabbing where his wound used to be.

Jaune hissed in pain showing that despite the great healing effects of the Fairy Fountain he wasn’t fully healed.

“The Skull Kid’s new powers are enough to shatter all of the Great Fairies and to cause Genocide in Termina, it stands to reason that they can counter the healing process of the Fairy Fountains. You can’t risk going in there until you’re fully healed,” The Great Fairy told him sternly while he rubbed his chest. “There’s too much at stake for you to rush it.”

“You didn’t have to poke me.” Jaune muttered a bit irritably.

The Great Fairy just raised a brow. “Would you have listened if I didn’t?”

Jaune wisely said nothing to that, but he didn’t need to as Tatl sighed. “He wouldn’t have,” She said only to receive a betrayed look from him. “What? I’m being honest considering your track record.”

“I don’t have a track record!” Jaune protested while the Great Fairy watched their little argument with an expression of amusement.

* * *

“So now what?” Jaune asked as the next cycle began, having played the Song of Time after leaving the Fairy Fountain.

He couldn’t just sit around and wait after what happened.

“We’re not going to the Ocean or the Canyon, you need to rest.” Tatl was nestled in his hair at the moment, rather adamant about not flying too far away from the blonde at the moment before seeing how he paused in thought and she knew that he was most likely trying to find a loophole. “And no that doesn’t mean you can go to the Swamp and Mountain either!”

Jaune spluttered. “I wasn’t thinking that!” He denied despite how he actually was.

“Uh huh.” Tatl’s tone clearly showed that she didn’t believe him in the slightest.

Giving a sigh, Jaune looked back at the Clock Tower, his mind flashing back to when the moon was crashing into it and shuddered.

Great, new nightmare material right there.

Tapping his foot as he crossed his arms, Jaune’s ears perked at a sudden idea. “How about the ranch?”

Tatl went silent at that, thinking it over. “Nothing dangerous happened when we were there last.” She said after some hesitation while Jaune took that as a win.

* * *

“That’s a big rock.” Jaune couldn’t help but say as he saw a guy with a pick axe trying to break through a gigantic rock that was four times bigger than the one blocking the Goron’s Race. “Think I can lift it?”

“Honesty I think you might give yourself a hernia if you tried.” Tatl warned with Jaune frowning before an idea came to him.

Would the Power Bracelets work as a Goron?

Taking them off much to Tatl’s confusion, Jaune pulled the Goron Mask out and changed into a Goron before putting them back on, a bit surprised by how the bracelets actually changed to accommodate his new form.

Tatl didn’t take long to figure out what he was doing as Jaune walked over to the giant rock, where the guy chipping away at it went to warn him off, only for his eyes to bug out when Jaune began to lift the giant boulder, giving a yell as he threw it high into the air where it shattered upon impact down the road.

The miner slowly looked at Jaune with a bit of a fearful expression. “Uh… You interested in a job?” He asked with Jaune giving a chuckle at the question.

“Thanks, but I’ll pass.”

With that said, he walked off towards the Ranch, taking the bracelets and the mask off before reapplying the bracelets back in his human form.

“Definitely have to remember that in the future.” Tatl commented with Jaune nodding.

Being able to use the Power Bracelet in his other forms was pretty useful.

It didn’t take too long to reach the ranch with Jaune smiling at seeing it. “Pretty peaceful here.” He couldn’t help but comment, especially since he could see the cows being out along with the chickens moving and a dog barking. “Definitely a nice change.”

“Yes, but we are technically trespassing.” Tatl pointed out with Jaune shrugging at that.

“Technically we’re always trespassing.” Jaune waved off before shrugging as he heard something coming right at him and he reacted by pulling his sword out to slice through an arrow.

Tatl gave a start at that happening with the two of them looking to where the arrow came from to see a girl looking at them in awe, standing near a target practice showing that the arrow was a misfire.

Wait, Jaune narrowed his eyes at the girl in confusion.

She was familiar-.

It clicked into place as Jaune remembered the last time they came to this Ranch, this girl was sitting on a box with a blank expression and dead blue eyes. The same girl who shook while holding her head.

Instead of that however, the girl’s eyes were full of curiosity and wonder as she looked Jaune over.

“Uh can I help you?” Jaune asked, almost shivering as he kept seeing how she looked last time compared to now.

“Are you a knight?” The girl asked in awe.

… What?

** _To Be Continued… _ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First things first I bet everyone was surprised with the close call with Skull Kid am I right? While typing this I realized how strange it would be if Skull Kid just stayed at the Clock Tower for those three days. I mean it’s good for a game mechanic but not for a story.
> 
> Plus you never see him except for the beginning and the end of Majora’s Mask, so I wanted to have his character show up again and to show how Jaune measures up so far. We also have some other characters introduced like ‘Keaton’ and finally the Ranch girl here.
> 
> Then there’s the new problem with the time resets showing that Skull Kid has a chance to become immune to them due to the Mask’s mysterious powers, especially if given the right trigger he could remember at any moment. Then we have Jaune learning another new sword technique being the Back Slice, adding to his ever growing sword skills.
> 
> And yes it’s been a year in the story so far, Jaune certainly has learned a lot in that year given the nature of how he’s learning it.


	12. The Invaders

“Are you a knight?”

Jaune couldn’t help but balk at the question, never having anyone ask that of him.

Back home he was the furthest thing from being a knight despite his dreams of being a hero.

He supposed that he looks the part if one took in his armor as well as the sword and shield, though with his armor shredded he doesn’t necessarily look like an impressive knight.

So Jaune rubbed the back of his neck. “Sorry but I’m not a knight.” He said, being honest with the girl while sheathing his sword. “I’m just a traveler.”

Instead of looking disappointed, the girl just raised her head before stating. “Nope, you’re a knight.” She said as if it was simple.

Before Jaune could even think of still denying it, Tatl gave a low chuckle. “You do give the impression of one Jaune,” She commented, flying to stay on his shoulder with the blonde looking at her. “Might as well indulge her.”

Now rolling his eyes and looking back at the girl, Jaune thought about it before giving a low smile.

There was no harm in this.

So he gave a rather dramatic bow to her with Tatl sounding like she was laughing if the ringing bells were any indication. “Apologies fair maiden,” He said in his best ‘knight’ voice he imagined from reading fairy tales which probably sounded rather ridiculous before he coughed with embarrassment. “Okay not doing that.”

The girl laughed at how he was acting with Jaune grinning, happy to see something come out of his fooling around.

“You can be such a dork sometimes.” Tatl muttered with fond exasperation at how Jaune was acting.

“You say it like it’s a bad thing.” Jaune pointed out, crossing his arms in the process while the girl looked back and forth between them. “Anyways I’m Jaune.”

“Romani knows, the fairy said your name already Mr. Knight.” The girl gave a nod, though the way she said it surprised Jaune.

“Mr. Knight?” Jaune asked not expecting the nickname or the fact that this girl seemed to be speaking in third person.

Romani gave a nod. “Yes, you’re a Knight, so you’re Mr. Knight. That’s the name that Romani gives you.”

On hearing the reasoning, Jaune couldn’t help but show amusement.

Receiving a nickname was the last thing he expected from visiting the ranch.

“So, you practicing your archery?” Jaune asked, gesturing to the bow in Romani’s hand.

For the first time since he’s been here, Romani’s smile slowly fell off her face.

“Y-Yeah.” She muttered, now shy.

That set off some alarms in his head before they heard Romani’s name being called and both of them looked to the side to see someone approaching them.

The person approaching them was a woman that looked like an older Romani, most likely either eighteen or nineteen if Jaune had to guess with shoulder-length hair that was more of a vibrant red than her little sister’s reddish-orange wearing a white blouse and a purple skirt.

As she got closer, Jaune could see she had toned muscle on her arms, which made sense considering this was a ranch, but she was giving Jaune a wary look before getting between him and her sister.

That was when Jaune realized how bad this must’ve looked.

To this person, who was most likely Romani's older sibling, he was a stranger talking to her baby sister. All he was missing was a white van and promising candy to make this look even worse.

Combined with the fact that this was the first girl close to his age that he’s met since coming to Termina and Jaune had no idea what to say.

“Cremia!” Romani was rather oblivious to what was going on. “This is Mr. Knight!”

The older woman-Cremia glanced down at Romani in confusion before realization dawned on her. “Romani you can’t just nickname people you meet.” She said smiling at her, but still giving Jaune a weary look. “How did you get here?”

Thinking she was talking about the blocked path, Jaune just said. “A Goron took care of the boulder earlier,” He said, hiding the fact that he was the Goron before holding out his hand. “I’m Arc Jau-I mean Jaune Kni-! Jaune!”

“Jaune are you stuttering?” Tatl asked in a tone that told him she was enjoying this.

In response, Jaune just pulled his hood up to hide his now red face.

“Jaune?” Cremia asked with him nodding in response.

“Yeah Jaune Arc, short, sweet, rolls off the tongue-ladies love it.”

It got quiet before he realized what he said as Tatl was now laughing at how he was embarrassing himself.

“Do they?” Romani asked with a raised head while Cremia was fighting not to laugh at how he was acting.

“... I think I’ll stop talking before I make things worse.”

Why did he have to revert to his Dad’s confidence advice now of all times?!

‘ _ Come on if you can handle Odolwa, Goht and survive Skull Kid this should be easy. _ ’ Jaune tried to tell himself.

Taking pity on the blonde, Tatl spoke up. “We were curious about what was around this area so we decided to explore a bit with the boulder gone.” She said flying up to Cremia. “Don’t mind Jaune, he’s not used to talking to girls.”

Jaune glared at her before realizing she was right.

Outside of his family the only girls he really interacted with were Tatl, the Great Fairies and the Deku Princess.

It was kind of sad now that he thought about it.

“But Mr. Knight was doing fine after Romani shot him with an arrow.” Romani voiced, that bit catching Cremia’s attention, a rather horrified expression crossing her face.

“Shot with an arrow?!”

“Oh it was a misfire, no one got hurt.” Jaune quickly said, forcing the nervousness down.

“You should’ve seen it, Cremia, Mr. Knight wasn’t even looking and he spun around to slice through Romani’s arrow with his sword!” Romani said making gestures mimicking what Jaune did moments ago.

“Romani, you need to be more careful.” Cremia chastened her little sister, making her excitement diminish a bit. “If he didn’t do that you could’ve seriously injured him.”

“Well yeah but-.” Romani sounded dejected, hanging her head low. “Romani wanted to practice.”

“Did you at least finish your chores?” Cremia asked, now crossing her arms while Romani fidgeted. “All you had to do was gather the eggs from the Cuccoo’s.”

“Romani was going to get to it.”

Cremia sighed as if expecting this while Jaune fidgeted in place before he spoke. “Do you need any help on the Ranch?” He offered.

That earned a surprised look from the young woman who looked rather thoughtful. “How strong are you?”

Refraining from smirking given his Power Bracelets, Jaune answered. “I can lift some pretty heavy stuff.”

Thinking it over some more, Cremia gave a nod as some help would be refreshing considering Romani was too young to help out with most of the stuff she does by herself. “There are a few haybills in the barn that need to be moved.”

“Where do you want them moved to?” Jaune asked now following Cremia.

Tatl shook her head. “So much for relaxing this cycle.” She said, though there was no bite to it.

At least this stuff wasn’t life-threatening.

While she flew after them, Romani watched the three walk off, a contemplative look on her face.

“Would Mr. Knight believe Romani about… Them?” Romani muttered in thought.

* * *

“You weren’t kidding when you said you can lift a lot.” Cremia couldn’t help but say, now milking the cows as Jaune easily moved the haybales out of the barn.

By herself that would’ve taken a few hours and here he was doing it in about twenty minutes, being able to lift at least five at once.

That type of strength was unnatural.

Jaune smiled sheepishly thinking he might’ve shown off a bit too much by accident.

“Traveling and being a swordsman really helps.” Jaune tried to lie, not sure what to say. “Anything else you need me to do?”

“Do you know how to groom the animals?” Cremia asked with Jaune shaking his head. “Let me finish here and I’ll show you how to groom a horse, we have a few on the ranch that need it.”

While he does that she’ll finish milking the rest of the cows and carry the bucket over to fill the jars.

After all, with the way to town open again she’ll be able to deliver the milk to town as planned.

Then she’ll take care of the manure, not being one to ask a stranger to do that considering she was used to the smell.

Jaune smiled and glanced out the barn, actually enjoying himself.

Ranches were something that rarely happened in Remnant due to the Grimm, so actually being on one was pretty cool in his opinion.

But then he saw Romani still practicing with her archery.

“She needs to pull back with her shoulders.”

Cremia paused from her work. “Pardon?”

“Oh uh, I was talking about your sister,” Jaune said, pointing outside, not meaning to say that out loud. “When someone pulls on the bow they need to use their shoulder blades, but she isn’t doing that.”

“You know how to use bows?” Cremia asked, not expecting that as she only saw the sword and shield on him.

Jaune smiled and shifted the shield to show the quiver that it hid. “Yeah, I’m pretty confident in my archery skills.”

“She’s doing a lot better then when you started, I remember you smacking your own arm with the string.” Tatl brought up with Jaune looking mortified.

“Tatl!”

“I’m just saying.”

As the two argued, Cremia glanced out to see Romani fire another arrow only for it to miss and the girl pouted at how her shooting skills seemed to be, something that Jaune noticed as well.

That in itself reminded Jaune of how he felt when he started archery training and how frustrating it was. But the bow was also different, made in a way where the string wouldn’t hit anyone’s arm when it snaps back unlike the Hero’s Bow.

“Do you mind if I teach her a little bit while waiting?” Jaune asked as Cremia might take a bit on the cows.

Mulling that over in her head, Cremia didn’t see a problem with that which she thought was a surprise given how unsure she was of Jaune after first seeing him interacting with Romani.

So she gave a nod, watching as Jaune left the barn to approach her little sister before the cow mooed, reminding her that she still needed to finish milking the creature.

* * *

“Not again,” Romani looked rather annoyed at how she kept missing the target. “What is Romani doing wrong?”

“Well you need to hold the end of the arrow with your thumb, middle and index finger,” Jaune’s voice surprised Romani making her jump before turning to see Jaune walking up next to her with his own bow out, Tatl flying behind him in a curious fashion. “Then you need to pull with your shoulders rather than your arms.”

He then displayed that while Romani watched, looking at his bow in surprise not expecting for him to have one.

“You try.” Jaune said, keeping the arrow steady.

Looking at how he held it, Romani shakily copied the action finding it a bit awkward before Jaune relaxed his grip and bent down to gently push the arm holding the bow up as it was too low to work.

“You need to aim above the target a bit to compensate for when gravity takes effect.” Jaune chided gently.

He was actually having fun teaching someone.

Romani then fired and while it was closer to the target she still missed.

“But Romani did what Mr. Knight said.” Romani looked confused while Jaune chuckled.

“It takes practice, I used to be pretty bad with a bow,” He revealed before he pulled back and shot the arrow, hitting a bulls-eye on the target after taking a split second to Romani’s amazement. “With enough practice it becomes second nature.”

“Romani has no time to practice, not with them coming.”

“Them?” Jaune asked with Romani freezing up.

She didn’t mean to say that.

“Romani, is this place in danger?” Jaune asked, his mind flashed to the last time he came to this ranch with Romani being despondent and the cows missing.

How this place seemed dead on the final day. Like everywhere else.

Slowly Romani gave a nod. “Won’t matter, no one believes Romani.”

Tatl who was silent during this whole conversation finally spoke. “We’ve seen and done some pretty crazy things, so it can’t be that bad.” She said already knowing that Jaune wouldn’t leave this alone.

Might as well help him out a bit with it.

After a few seconds, Romani caved glancing down to her feet. “They come at night… Every year whenever the Carnival approaches,” She began not wanting to look at Jaune in case he didn’t believe her. “They come from the stars, riding in a bright, shining ball. A lot of them come and then they come to the barn, leaving with the cows.”

It got silent while Jaune blinked.

D-Did she just say aliens come down once a year to steal their cows?!

Okay that was a new one. Though with everything else it reached up in the top five of the weirdest things in Termina he’s seen. Nothing beats the hand that’s inside the toilet of the Stock Pot Inn.

“My older sister won’t believe me, but Romani must protect the cows.” Romani clenched a fist at her own declaration.

“I don’t believe you because you’re letting your imagination go wild,” Cremia’s voice cut through her declaration as she approached the group with a stern look. “Romani, this is getting ridiculous.”

“You’re ridiculous.” Romani muttered before running off. “But you’ll see, Romani will prove it.”

As she left, Cremia sighed. “Sorry you had to hear that, it’s true that the cows disappeared, but it’s most likely bandits not whatever she’s saying it is.” She said wishing her sister would let that go.

Jaune frowned, replaying what he heard in his head before coming to a decision.

He’ll look into this.

“Anyways are you ready to learn how to groom the horses?”

* * *

“You need to do circular motions going opposite of where the hair grows,” Cremia explained using a curry comb to help move the dirt in the skin to the surface of a brown horse that stood in place. “Don’t put in too much pressure, but you need to be firm with it. After you go through the entire body you switch out to a hard brush to get the dirt off.”

Jaune gave a nod, paying close attention to what she was doing.

But as she was doing that, his gaze went past her to see a horse that was grazing.

It looked to be a rather young horse, but old enough for people to ride it with a white mane, hooves and tail along with a reddish-brown coat that was black around the muzzle, ears and knees.

Though there were a few bandages around her waist, something that concerned Jaune a bit.

As if sensing someone watching it, the horse looked up and met Jaune’s gaze before turning to run away.

That was weird.

“Oh don’t mind her,” Cremia’s voice interrupted his thoughts. “That mare has been skittish ever since we found her injured a few days ago.”

“What happened?” Jaune asked, not expecting that.

“I don’t know, I started the day as I usually did when I found her nearly dead,” Cremia had a sad look on her face looking to where the horse could be seen. “She rarely lets people get close to her.”

Hearing that made Jaune feel an urge of sympathy for the young horse considering how many injuries he received in this past year.

Shaking that from his head, Jaune watched Cremia groom the horse before she turned to hand him the brush. “Now you try.”

Giving a nod, Jaune slowly did what she was doing.

It was oddly relaxing.

Unknown to him however, Cremia who was watching him at first to make sure he was doing this right, glanced up to see the moon, a look of fear crossing her face that was followed by resignation.

A low whine made her look back to Jaune who winced as he brushed a bit too hard making her sigh.

“No, you have to do it like this,” Cremia chided walking over, placing a hand over his to guide the direction he had to go. “Going the other way will pull the hair out.”

“Right, need to remember that.” Jaune said turning to give her a thankful smile only to tense as he realized how close she was, her hair practically touching his shoulder, almost going down his neck along with the realization that he was technically holding hands with a girl, even if it wasn’t in the usual sense.

Not trusting himself to say anything in case it was anymore advice from his dad, Jaune quickly turned his attention back to the horse with his face bright red along with his ears drooping a bit.

Cremia gave him a confused look, most likely feeling him tense given how she was guiding his hand. Though that confusion turned to understanding as she quickly realized the problem if the way she let go of his hand was any indication.

“Right you seem to have it from here, I need to get back to the cows.” Cremia said turning with her hair hiding a small blush.

Jaune said nothing as she walked off before Tatl looked at him. “Real smooth Deku Boy.” She said using her old nickname for him for the first time in awhile.

“S-Shut up.” Jaune muttered to her light teasing.

From the ringing she was making it seemed his retort was enough to make her laugh.

** _~Night of the First Day~_ **

** _-Sixty Hours Remain-_ **

Jaune sighed as he sat down with just about all of the horses groomed, his back against the wall of the barn while Tatl was nestled in his hair.

“That took forever.” Tatl muttered showing how bored she was while Jaune did that. “How do ranchers do that every day?”

“Probably so used to it that it doesn’t take as long,” Jaune commented, not feeling tired, then again given everything he’s done that’s to be expected. “With enough practice it would be quick and easy.”

“What, are you going to have your own farm? I thought you were heading to a warrior school before coming here?” Tatl asked, remembering how Jaune said something about a school during their trek through the sewers of Clock Town in the first cycle.

Jaune didn’t answer immediately, just mulling it over in his head. “It would actually be nice.”

Though with the Grimm in Remnant he didn’t see how he could do that.

Going quiet for a bit, Jaune pulled the Ocarina of Time out to play a bit before he heard footsteps.

“Mr. Knight!” Romani’s voice caused Jaune to tilt his head to the left to see the young girl approaching.

“Hey Romani.” Jaune greeted with a slight wave before the girl came to a stop right next to him. “What is it?”

“C-... Can you show me more on using the bow?” Romani requested nervously, glancing up at the sky, knowing the time.

“Is it about them?” Jaune asked, making her freeze up. “... When are they coming?”

“You-you believe Romani?” Romani asked not expecting that while Jaune grinned wryly.

“What type of knight would I be if I didn’t help out?” He asked, going along with her nickname.

Slowly her surprise turned into happiness before she cheered, happy that someone actually believed her.

More than that but from the skills that Mr. Knight showed, he was more than capable of handling them.

“Uh Romani?” Jaune’s voice made the young girl realize that sometime in her cheer she began to hug him.

“Sorry, Romani got excited.” Romani said letting him go. “They always come around two in the morning but leave at the light of first dawn.”

“So three hours.” Tatl summarized quite easily, humming in thought. “Why do they want the cows?”

“Don’t know,” Romani admitted easily with a shrug. “But Romani wants to protect them.”

“Then we keep them away from the barn at all costs,” Jaune agreed, frowning a bit. “This will be tricky.”

But he wasn’t about to back down.

A low whine made them look up to see the injured mare from earlier heading towards the barn to come in for the night, but freezing up at seeing them showing some fear.

“Oh poor pony.” Romani said, sad to see the fear.

Jaune however stared at the horse, images of a young boy in green going through his head while the Ocarina began to give a soft glow.

These images, they felt familiar, yet he knows for a fact that he didn’t experience any of them before the boy pulled out the exact same Ocarina that Jaune had and played a song he’s never heard of.

Frowning in confusion, Jaune slowly lifted his Ocarina catching Romani’s attention while Tatl was wondering what he was doing.

Surely he wasn’t going to play the Song of Time?

But then Jaune began to play a song she hasn’t heard before. It was a rather rustic one, yet also had some beauty in it with Tatl hovering to the music in itself.

Strangely enough, it seemed to fit this place as he continued before, to Romani’s surprise, the injured mare hesitated and then she slowly trotted over to Jaune, neighing as if going along with the notes.

Jaune blinked, stopping the song in surprise where slowly he raised a hand and placed it on the mare’s head rubbing her fur. Instead of running away, the mare leaned into the touch.

“How did you do that Mr. Knight?” Romani asked, never seeing the mare act like that.

Instead of answering, Jaune held a far off look in his eyes, one that made him seem far older than he really was. “Epona?” He muttered with the mare looking right at him with the same look as if they knew each other.

“Epona?” Tatl’s voice broke through Jaune’s thoughts and suddenly he was back feeling very confused, the Ocarina no longer giving a soft glow.

What was that?

Looking down, he quickly spoke. “The song, it was something my Dad taught me called Epona’s Song,” He lied wondering where it came from. “Epona was a mare that belonged to… An ancestor of mine.”

That last part came out before he could stop himself making him stare at the Ocarina.

He was guessing about the ancestor part given how the boy had the same Ocarina. And given how powerful this artifact was, perhaps it was sharing something with him about this ancestor?

Tatl however gave Jaune a look as if knowing there was something he wasn’t sharing but Romani smiled widely.

“Epona… It fits, Romani declares that to be the pony’s name.” Romani said simply while Jaune forced a laugh to try and feel normal.

“Glad I could help.” Jaune said half-heartedly, now putting the Ocarina up.

* * *

“Wait, so the Ocarina showed you that?” Tatl asked a few hours later when Romani went back inside with Jaune nodding.

The fairy wasted no time in getting the information on why Jaune was acting weird.

“Yeah, but it was like… It felt familiar.” Jaune finally said after struggling for a moment.

“I swear that Ocarina of yours just makes more questions.” Tatl muttered with some slight annoyance, but she easily shook it off. “So Epona huh?”

“I think that’s the name of the song, it came to me after I played it,” Jaune shrugged when Tatl gave him a confused glance. “I’m just as lost as you are.”

And that was one thing that truly bothered him.

With everything that has happened, he just wished that something made sense about the Ocarina. He’s had it for years and it’s only now started doing this stuff?

Why?

Shaking his head after thinking it over for a bit, Jaune looked back up at the sky, seeing that it was getting close to two in the morning.

Wow he didn’t think that much time passed.

“... Jaune do you mind if I ask you something?”

That earned Jaunes attention because whenever Tatl had a question she would always just ask it.

Asking for permission to ask the question however was new.

“What’s wrong?”

Tatl hovered in the air with some of her light dimming, but not enough to reveal her body.

To Jaune however it looked like she was trying to keep calm.

“Do-. Do you think we can beat Skull Kid?”

Jaune didn’t answer immediately, knowing why she asked that as the events of the last cycle went through his head, the phantom pain making him grip where his newest injury was, grimacing while he did so.

Even after everything they’ve achieved, Skull Kid toyed with them before he got serious and all they could do was survive, barely scraping through by the skin of their teeth and that was with a serious injury.

Kaepora’s words echoed through his mind from when he first met him.

‘ _ This Swamp you are in lost its Guardian Deity, but it was destined to fade anyway. _ ’

Then the words about the Mountain many cycles later.

‘ _ Their land is doomed to be smothered in snow and ice forever. It will become a land where no living thing can survive. _ ’

Even if he did stop Skull Kid, many would still be suffering from his actions. Too many have been affected with so little time to fix it.

Three days is all he has to change their fates, including his own.

And that’s if he could actually stop him.

It was hard to see how they could stop him, with so much against them and the dangers getting worse the further they get.

Jaune let out a small chuckle now looking up at Tatl with the fairy seeing some despair in his eyes. “Honestly no.”

That shocked Tatl who wasn’t expecting for him to say that.

No matter what happened, Jaune always kept a smile and said it was possible.

“But we can’t let that stop us.” Jaune continued, making Tatl pay attention. “Even if it seems impossible, someone has to stop him.”

The price of failure is the death of Termina and after so many cycles, Jaune has grown to care for this world and the people in it.

Everyone from the inhabitants of Clock Town to the Deku Kingdom along with the Goron Tribe and right now the inhabitants of this Ranch.

They all deserve to see past the third day. To Celebrate this Festival of Time.

They deserve to live without someone treating their lives like nothing more than toys.

“So we need to try.” Jaune finished with his voice quivering showing how scared of this situation he was now that he was no longer trying to hide it. “There’s too much at stake.”

The two fell into silence for a bit, neither of them speaking yet taking comfort in the fact that they were in this together before they heard a door open to see Romani sneaking out of the house, bow in hand.

“Are you ready Mr. Knight?” Romani asked a nervous look crossing her face. “They should be here soon.”

Jaune gave a nod, checking his quiver full of arrows while he held the Hero Bow. “They won’t know what hit them,” He promised, taking the Bunny Hood out to place on for extra speed only to hear a small giggle. “What?”

“Perhaps Romani should call you Bunny instead?” Romani couldn’t look at Jaune who looked so serious with a Bunny Hood on his head along with his confusion.

“Y’know she has a point, you do look kind of ridiculous.”

Jaune gave Tatl a look. “I didn’t see you saying anything when it helped us out in Snowhead.”

“That’s because we were pressed for time.” Tatl reminded him.

Rolling his eyes, Jaune turned back to Romani who was still giggling, though she looked like she wasn’t nervous anymore. “Alright, I’ll keep around the barn and shoot any I see, I want you to go inside the barn.”

That made the young girl stop giggling as she gained an indigent look. “Romani can fight.” She protested as this was her fight as much as his.

She was the one to request his help.

“I know you can, but you can do better from inside in case any of them slip past me and make it there.” Jaune said lying a bit as he didn’t plan for that to happen, but he knew she wouldn’t listen if he said it was to keep her safe.

Jaune knew enough about kids to know they were like that.

Romani bit her lip, conflicted as she wanted to help Jaune, but she knew the cows were a high priority for her sister.

So she gave a nod. “Alright Mr. Knight.”

Jaune smiled and placed a hand on her head. “I’m counting on you.”

Hearing that made her beam. “Romani won’t let you down.”

As she ran to get to the barn, Tatl hummed. “You’re pretty good with kids.”

“Kind of helps that I can turn into one at any moment.” Jaune pointed out, referencing the Deku Mask.

Tatl gave him that before they tensed as something was off.

There wasn’t any noise, no wind blowing.

Something was wrong.

Notching an arrow, Jaune glanced around before hearing a high pitched whistle filling the air right as an orange ball of light began to zip around them.

“Jaune, you see that too right?” Tatl asked with fear as the blonde gave a nod.

What was that?

The noise coming from it got louder right as beings began to materialize around them. They had large purple heads with a grey face and a purple body but no legs with large, glowing orange eyes.

So this was Them.

If Jaune didn’t know any better he would say they were Ghosts, they kind of remind him of those stories.

But they were surrounded in seconds with Jaune taking a step back, already seeing that he didn’t have enough arrows for all of them as they began to slowly drift towards the barn.

Gritting his teeth, Jaune let an arrow fly right as it pierced through one of ‘Them’ with it burning up leaving little to no trace.

Not stopping, Jaune fired arrow after arrow, trying to keep them at bay.

“Jaune the barn!” Tatl shouted, making the blonde curse as he saw two almost there.

They didn’t last long with Jaune firing at them.

This was insane.

For every one he put down, three more popped out.

Where were they coming from?!

Jaune tried firing at the orb, but the arrows had no effect on it leaving for him to continue at them instead.

Running around the barn, Jaune saw five more that nearly snuck in through the back.

And he was out of arrows.

So he opted for his sword and shield, slicing through them.

“Something’s not right, why aren’t they focused on us?” Tatl asked, flying up to call out which one was close to the barn for Jaune to focus on.

“You complaining?!” Jaune asked, slicing through another.

“Heck no, but don’t you think it’s odd?”

It was odd.

They were focusing solely on the barn. Nothing else.

“There has to be a way to stop this.” Jaune muttered, glancing up at the moon only to curse.

It’s barely been five minutes.

How can he last until morning like this?!

A scream made Jaune jerk as he realized one of them actually got into the barn right as the roof of it was blown off.

Slowly the cows began to be pulled into the air, mooing in protest as they disappeared into the orange light that was now above the barn.

He failed-no.

Jaune felt his heart pound as he saw Romani flailing as she was being lifted into the air and he didn’t think before running towards the barn despite Tatl’s protests.

“ _ MR. KNIGHT! _ ” Romani shouted, trying to break free as she was being carried up, her hair all over the place, a look of sheer terror on her face.

Jaune ran as quickly as he could but there was nothing he could do but watch as Romani disappeared much like the cows and the light took off with him looking distraught.

This was his fault, he should’ve made Romani go back inside the house instead of letting her go into the barn.

Jaune fell to his knees, too caught up into his own failure to notice something that was very important.

Lucky for him, Tatl saw it easily.

“Wait, the light’s stopping.”

Jaune snapped his head up in time to see it descend beyond the tree’s.

Yet close enough for it for him to get there if he hurried.

But he wouldn’t be able to make it on foot.

Glancing back towards the house, Jaune sighed. “Sorry Cremia, but I’m borrowing a horse.”

If there was a chance to get Romani back, he’s taking it.

** _To Be Continued… _ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heh, who expected for Jaune to actually fail the side quest in taking out the ‘aliens’ that invade the Ranch? To be perfectly honest with how many pop up, it’s kind of impossible for anyone to hold them off for a few hours, at least by themselves.
> 
> In the game it’s fine, but here? Not so much. But I also have a theory on where they come from and it has to do with a certain mask you can get in this game, the hint is to think of the similarity with their face and you might get it.
> 
> Besides that I hope you enjoyed the characterizations of Romani and Cremia, especially with Jaune getting along with them, though it’s only been a day for all three of them, not that much interaction between them. Not that there’s much time for that anyways with the three days.
> 
> But we also have Epona finally making an appearance and Jaune having some sort of Deja-Vu with the Ocarina of Time showing him one of Link’s memories to teach him Epona’s Song-let’s be honest that’s not the weirdest thing that Ocarina could do at this point.
> 
> Finally we have some ship-tease moments with Jaune being nervous around Cremia. Honestly I noticed out of everyone Jaune interacted with before this, she’s the only one that’s remotely close to his age, so it’s understandable that his ‘nerves’ acted up a bit much to his embarrassment.


	13. Saving the Ranch

Jaune burst into the stable to grab a horse only to see the newly named Epona walk up to him, neighing softly.

“Sorry girl, but I’m in a hurry.” Jaune said not planning on taking the still recovering mare as he looked at the other horses.

But that plan went out the window as Epona just trotted in his way and shook her head, as if gesturing for him to get on.

Blinking in surprise and after some slight hesitation, Jaune caved and slowly mounted Epona, feeling odd, especially since there was no saddle or reins to hold onto this mare unlike the others.

“Jaune are you sure?” Tatl asked as the blonde tried to get comfortable. “Taking an injured horse might not be the best idea.”

“It’s fine.” Jaune said not wanting to waste anymore time with a smile before giving Epona an apologetic look. “Just so you know, I have no idea what I’m doing right now.”

He swore he saw Epona snort in amusement, but she took off before he could make sure, nearly making him fall off as he quickly wrapped his hand around her neck to stay on.

“W-Whoa!” Jaune nearly shouted while Tatl gave a start and flew after them as quickly as she could despite being vastly outmatched in terms of speed.

His whole body was bouncing up and down along with Epona’s movements and it didn’t take long for his legs to start cramping up, obviously not used to horse riding.

But Epona was fast.

This was definitely faster than he was as a Goron chasing down Goht or traversing Termina with the Bunny Hood, that’s for sure.

Slowly as Romani Ranch disappeared from view, Jaune began to adjust to the rhythm of Epona’s movements, trying to find a way to stay comfortable as he didn’t know how long it would take to find Romani.

But he gained a determined look, eyes straight ahead towards the area where he knew the light stopped.

‘ _ Just hang on Romani. _ ’ Jaune silently pleaded while trying to force down the thoughts of his actions.

Deep down, Jaune knew this was pointless.

No matter what he did it would be undone when he played the Song of Time and she would suffer at the hands of whoever did this over and over again until he finally does defeat Skull Kid. After so long of having his deeds being undone, he became numb to it.

But that didn’t matter, all he could think of at that moment was the terrified face that Romani showed when she was abducted. One begging to be saved only for him to fail.

Because he wasn’t strong enough.

‘ _ Why? _ ’ Jaune thought furiously going through every fight he’s ever been in. ‘ _ Why am I always failing when it matters?! _ ’

Sure he defeated Odolwa and Goht, but no matter what triumph he’s had it’s always outshined by whenever he fails.

Like when he saw Skull Kid’s true strength in their last encounter four days ago. And with this.

It was then that Jaune realized that Tatl wasn’t with him and he winced with some slight guilt, but pushed it down to focus.

Eventually he came to the crossroad where the boulder that blocked the Ranch was and Epona came to a stop as Jaune looked at the one path that he has yet to travel in this area.

The one in between the road to Clock Town and the Ranch, where he was certain the light stopped.

A scream made him perk up in dread.

That sounded like Romani.

“Epona, go!” Jaune exclaimed with the mare not wasting anymore time right as Tatl finally caught up panting like crazy from how fast she was flying.

“Oh for the love of-Jaune!” Tatl shouted at seeing him go out of sight again before she flew after him despite her exhaustion, annoyed at being left in the dust again. “I swear I need to get a leash for that boy!”

Jaune didn’t hear her as Romani screamed again only for it to be cut off with his panic increasing.

Eventually he came to what looked to be a race track and he could see ‘Them’ herding the cows inside of a barn.

Seeing that, Jaune placed a hand on Epona’s mane with her slowing down enough for him to get off, not wanting to be seen or heard.

With that done, he unsheathed his sword and slowly moved towards the barn while Epona moved away to avoid giving him away. While he ignored that, Jaune was still surprised and was beginning to think that Epona was a lot smarter than the average horse.

Eventually he made it to the window of the barn and peeked in to see Romani tied up and gagged while two grown men were whispering to each other rather harshly.

They looked like that one guy in Clock Town, what was his name?

… Right it was Ingo.

Ingo was this rather rude guy who was in charge of a Zora Band, yet looking at these two he could see a bit of a difference. Family perhaps?

One wore orange overalls while the other wore gray overalls but they had the same round nose, thick eyebrows with thinning hair and a handlebar mustache.

But what caught his eye was the mask the one in the gray overalls was wearing.

Its face matched Them.

“They were supposed to only bring the Cows, not the damn girl.” The one without the mask said glancing between his brother and Romani who looked at them rather fearfully. “We can’t just send her back, she knows us Harvey.”

“Look we can fix this Lionel.”

“How?!”

“Simple, we use this mask.” The one in the mask, Harvey, simplified with its eyes glowing while Lionel looked rather unsure at the claim.

“Damn thing still gives me the creeps.” Lionel admitted with a shiver.

Harvey just rolled his eyes as two of ‘Them’ appeared around them. “Doesn’t matter, it’s useful,” He kneeled in front of Romani who flinched in fear at seeing the mask up close. “With this we have a shot at putting that ranch out of business, without their cows they lost their revenue of the milk.”

“Good thing too, can’t believe that boulder we managed to get there was taken care of, it was supposed to take longer dammit.”

Jaune narrowed his eyes now understanding what was happening.

So it wasn’t aliens, but sabotage from a rival ranch? At least this would be something he could deal with.

But how the hell did they get a boulder of that size to block off the Romani Ranch?

Filing that under an ask later question, Jaune knew that he had to be smart and get that mask off of Harvey.

That would take care of ‘Them’ rather easily.

About to get in there, Jaune paused as he felt some dread and glanced over his shoulder only to see one of ‘Them’ right in his face making him jump, his arm hitting the side of the barn, making the brothers tense.

“Who’s there?!” Lionel asked while Harvey stilled, using the mask to see out of the eyes of one of them.

“It’s that damn swordsman who tried to stop us.” Harvey narrowed his eyes given how he had to control the beings summoned by this mask and see through their eyes which made him aware of Jaune.

Hearing that, Romani perked up as she knew what that meant.

Cursing to himself as he heard them, Jaune sliced through the spirit and moved when more showed up, intent on getting inside to free Romani.

But the moment he got inside, Jaune stopped as Lionel was holding a knife and had a hand on Romani’s shoulder. “Hold it, drop the sword.” He demanded, raising the knife to Romani’s neck.

Feeling the blade against her neck, Romani stilled with a fearful look.

Jaune gritted his teeth in frustration, kicking himself for his lapse of judgement.

He was too rash.

“I said drop it!” Lionel said pressing the blade with enough force to draw blood while more of the beings Harvey controlled began to appear around them.

Staring him down, Jaune relented and dropped the sword, his eyes looking around for a way to do this.

“Now kick it to me.” Harvey ordered only for something to happen.

Tatl finally caught up and slammed into Lionel, making him stumble forward, the knife slipping out of his hand and that was all that Jaune needed as he ran forward, forgoing the sword to slam his shield into Harvey before he spun around and did the shield bash on Lionel to get him away from Romani.

With them taken care of for the moment, Jaune quickly pulled the gag out of Romani’s mouth. “Are you alright?” He asked in concern.

“Yes-. Behind you Mr. Knight!”

That exclamation saved Jaune as one of ‘Them’ nearly slashed his back with its clawed hand, using his shield to block it while Tatl managed to recover from her tackle and flew to Jaune.

“So how many times have I saved you?” Tatl asked in a quipping tone to try and keep calm from this weird event they found themselves in.

“Lost track.” Jaune returned right as Harvey recovered and grabbed the sword that Jaune dropped.

“Dammit why the heck are you interfering with our business?!” Harvey demanded, holding the sword in a hostile manner.

Jaune wasn’t scared of that because the man wasn’t a trained swordsman like he was, his stance was so full of holes that Jaune was almost insulted. Then he remembered how he was no better in the beginning and had to resist the urge to groan.

Still, what did scare him was how he was controlling ‘Them’. Without ‘Them’ these two are no threat at all that’s for sure.

Lionel was beginning to get up only for Jaune to place a foot on his back and keep him down.

“Take that mask off.” Jaune told him in a harsh tone. “The edges of my shield are as sharp as that sword and I’m not afraid to use it.”

To emphasize that he knelt down to hold it near Lionel who stiffened in fear, fear that Harvey shared given how he tensed up.

But then he scoffed. “You don’t have the guts.”

Hearing that nearly made Jaune curse given how he was bluffing.

But he kept calm and pressed the shield against Lionel to try and keep the bluff going. “Maybe I don’t, maybe I do. Do you really wish to test that?”

In response to that Harvey’s mask glowed and countless more apparitions of ‘Them’ appeared that made the amount that invaded the barn look like a small group.

They were completely surrounded.

“Mr. Knight?” Romani asked in a fearful tone at seeing this.

“It’ll be alright.” Jaune promised her, not taking his eyes off of Harvey who took a step closer.

“If there’s one thing I’m good at in this business of ours, it’s to know when someone has the guts to do something, you’ve never actually killed anyone before have you?” Harvey asked, taking another step forward. “If you have you would’ve done it and then killed me instead of using that threat.”

For a brief second, Jaune pondered if he should do it given how they would be brought back when he played the Song of Time before cold realization washed over him.

H-He was actually contemplating it as if lives didn’t matter. To even consider it was showing how detached he was starting to become towards others.

With that Harvey was close enough to strike, breaking Jaune out of his thoughts as he abandoned his threat to block the strike, lifting his foot to kick out, knocking Harvey back who dropped the sword while Lionel rolled out of the way leaving for the Blonde to grab his sword once more.

He got his sword back but lost his leverage.

“I knew it.” Harvey said and Jaune could just see the grin beneath the mask.

“I didn’t, don’t do that.” Lionel snarled at his brother given how it was his life that was gambled.

“I’ll make it up to you later,” Harvey told him as he focused with even more apparitions appearing. “Now take care of-.”

He was interrupted when Epona burst into the barn and galloped past him, biting on the mask as she ran past effectively pulling it off with Harvey giving a stunned look, making a rather good impression of a goldfish.

Seeing that made Jaune grin as he expected for ‘Them’ to disappear the moment the mask came off, but something was off.

The air was starting to get cold, enough for Jaune to shiver as a dark chill went through his spine.

It was only a moment later that Jaune realized the cold air was from fear that was starting to creep into the atmosphere, not the weather given how it always began to rain during the second day.

The apparitions paused as the mental control of the mask broke, their yellow eyes slowly turning towards Harvey as they took on a red hue.

Harvey took a step back right as one of them let out a blood curdling shriek and they began to slowly advance on him.

“N-No stay back.” Harvey shouted as Lionel tried to stop them but they went past him, only focused on his brother.

Seeing that they were ignoring him, Jaune quickly freed Romani from her restraints allowing for her to quickly latch onto Jaune’s leg, giving ‘Them’ a look of complete fear.

Harvey found himself cornered as backing up was no longer an option given how he was at the end of the barn. “Stop this! I brought you here!” He tried to give an order, his eyes looking around for an escape but there were too many for him to escape right before they were on him. “ _ PLEASE! SOMEONE HELP! _ ”

Eyes widening, Jaune quickly picked Romani up. “Don’t look!”

His serious tone made her shut her eyes, but she could still hear Harvey’s horrified screams as ‘They’ began to tear into him, the sound making her cling to him rather tightly. Jaune stared in shock as he couldn’t look away from how their claws pierced his flesh and how they were literally tearing him apart with blood now gushing out, painting the back walls of the barn and the floor as Lionel screamed out his name in vain.

Instead he hugged Romani to give her comfort while slowly backing away not wanting to be anywhere near them. Tatl was at a loss for words at the horror they were witnessing, not saying anything in fear that they would go after them.

Nothing in the past could’ve prepared them for this.

Eventually the screams died down and ‘They’ began to disappear with the torn body of Harvey laying there as Jaune felt bile rise up in his throat at what he just witnessed.

“Harvey!” Lionel fell to his knees at seeing his brother dead like that before he slowly turned to Jaune and snarled. “You. You killed my brother!”

Keeping one hand on Romani, Jaune quickly placed a hand on the hilt of his sword in case Lionel went to attack and that was enough for the man to pause before giving him one last hateful glare as he took off running.

Seeing him gone, Jaune let go of his sword once more and checked to see that Romani still had her eyes closed before he turned around and left the barn, ensuring that she wouldn’t see that carnage.

“You can open up your eyes.” Jaune said with his tone almost sounding dead.

He was definitely going to be having new nightmares from this whole ordeal that was for sure.

Romani didn’t do so at first, but slowly she lifted her head and did that with Jaune looking down at her considering he was still holding onto her.

With the danger passed, Romani broke down and began to cry. “Mr. Knight.” She sniffled, pressing her face against his chest with tears streaking down her face.

Throughout the whole ordeal with being tied up and gagged, she didn’t know what would happen or if she would see her sister again.

“Ssh, it’s alright.” Jaune tried to comfort her, placing a hand on the back of her head as she continued to cry.

He had no idea what he was doing and he was pretty sure it was showing on his face, but he was at least glad he spared her the horror of seeing what ‘They’ did to Harvey.

That was something a child should never see.

It took some time for Romani to stop, her tear streaked eyes now red right as Epona trotted forward still carrying the mask.

Jaune eyed the mask as he gently took it from the mare before placing it in his gear bag.

“Jaune?” Tatl asked after seeing that.

“Best we take it now instead of letting Lionel grab it while we’re gone.” Jaune said having no qualms about never using this particular mask after everything he saw.

After a few seconds, Tatl found herself agreeing with him.

* * *

Cremia was beside herself in worry after waking up to not only find Romani’s bed empty but the roof of the barn destroyed and the cows gone. Especially seeing Romani’s bow inside of the barn.

“Romani?!” Cremia shouted, trying not to think of the worst case scenario.

As she looked around, Cremia could see the multiple arrows that littered the field and she frowned in thought remembering seeing Jaune’s arrows from the other day.

Did he have something to do with this?

“ _ CREMIA! _ ” Hearing Romani’s voice, Cremia quickly took off after it only to see her entering the ranch on the injured mare.

“Are you alright?” Cremia asked upon reaching Romani, checking her over for injuries and she saw what looked to be rope imprints on her arms and the small cut on her neck which alarmed her greatly.

“Romani is fine, Mr. Knight saved me.” Romani said looking down.

She knew that Mr. Knight had a point, but she didn’t like not telling Cremia the real truth about the situation.

“It was the Gorman Brothers.” Romani revealed with Cremia looking shocked. “They were behind blocking the ranch and stealing the cows.”

“Did they hurt you?” Cremia asked in a dangerous tone, promising pain to the Brothers if the answer was yes.

Seeing Romani shake her head, Cremia let out a sigh of relief as she scooped her off of the mare.

“Thank you Epona.” Romani said to the mare who neighed softly.

“Epona?” Cremia asked in confusion.

“Mr. Knight suggested the name yesterday and Romani liked it.”

“Did he now?” Cremia sounded amused before looking around. “And where is ‘Mr. Knight’?”

“He said he would catch up.”

The moment Romani said that the Ranch sisters could hear what sounded like music confusing the older one before she could see in the distance approaching the ranch was Jaune wearing the Bremen Mask with the cows following behind him as if they were marching behind the blonde.

That was something Cremia was pretty sure she wouldn’t see.

“So where do you want the cows?” Tatl’s voice surprised Cremia as she jumped only to see her floating to the side, now glowing a bit brighter in amusement. “Jaune would ask but he’s kind of busy right now.”

“Oh uh, over there.” Cremia said quietly, still trying to process this as Jaune heard her and gave a nod, still playing the Ocarina, but this time he was now heading to where she pointed.

“Don’t worry, we know this is strange, Jaune and I are just used to various strange things at this point.” Tatl remarked finding her reaction to seeing something like this funny.

Even if it was rather tame considering the stuff she and Jaune have seen.

Cremia had no clue what to say about that as the last of the cows were finally back in the ranch, leading her to rush and close the gate behind them and that was when Jaune finished playing the song, taking the Bremen Mask off.

“It seemed much faster going there then coming back.” Jaune panted showing how long he’s been playing the Ocarina nonstop as Tatl flew over to him.

“You rode Epona to get there, that’s not really a fair estimate.”

“You know what I meant.” Jaune countered with a playful grin before seeing Cremia approaching him and he was suddenly nervous given everything that’s happened.

He wouldn’t have been surprised if she decided to punch him for getting her sister in a dangerous situation considering he should’ve convinced Romani to stay in her home rather than the barn.

What he wasn’t expecting was for her to suddenly hug him a mixture of relief and fear showing on her face. “Thank you for saving my sister.” Cremia whispered as Jaune was now red in the face, his ears drooping a bit.

“N-N-No problem.”

“Mr. Knight, why are you red? Are you sick?” Romani asked with Cremia letting go and Jaune quickly pulled his hood up to try and hide his embarrassment.

Cremia gave a small laugh at how he was acting before glancing at the different cows. “I should get to work, I still have a delivery to make tonight.”

As she said that she realized that not only did Jaune save her only family member left but also inadvertently saved their ranch.

They really did owe the blonde a lot.

“Anything you need help with?” Jaune offered, trying to act normal.

“You’ve already done a lot, just rest.” Cremia told him before turning to Romani. “That goes for you too, with how many arrows there are I have a feeling both of you were up all night, is that correct?”

The two actually looked like they were being scolded, leaving Tatl to laugh, ringing filling the air at what was happening.

“Just take it easy today.”

* * *

Jaune found himself uncertain as he was laying down outside next to the house despite Romani insisting he come in to rest, he was in the area where the horses were so he at least had a roof above his head with the rain pattering against it.

Instead however his mind was now flashing back to what happened to Harvey considering there was nothing to distract him from it anymore and from how silent Tatl was being, she was thinking the same.

“You did the best you could do.” Tatl spoke, Jaune remaining silent as she flew to land next to him. “After everything that happened you should be happy you managed to get Romani out of there.”

“But I couldn’t save him.” Jaune whispered, confusing Tatl.

“After what he tried to do?”

Why would he want to save the man after all that?

“It’s… I know it’s stupid but I wanted to save him, no one deserved that fate,” Jaune whispered, hearing the man’s terrified screams. “Even if it’ll be undone when we go back, I wanted to save him.”

“Jaune even if what we do is permanent we can’t save everyone,” Tatl said in a sad tone. “No matter how much we wish it no one can save everyone.”

Jaune looked to the side despite knowing she was right.

From what he’s seen both the Gorman Brothers were too far gone to be saved, much like how Skull Kid was.

That was when he let out a low chuckle.

“I just realized something.”

Tatl glanced up at him in confusion. “What?”

“We just dealt with an insane situation that wasn’t related to Skull Kid at all.” Jaune said dryly.

Tatl was quiet for a few seconds before she let out a laugh, finding that a little funny.

It probably wasn’t too funny but they needed a laugh.

Feeling a little better, Jaune glanced back up at the sky, ignoring the moon as he watched the clouds pass by and before he knew it he was asleep.

* * *

“Get up, you’re going to catch a cold sleeping outside like this.” Cremia’s voice broke through Jaune’s thoughts as he woke up to see her looking a little exasperated, some dirt and sweat showing on her face as the position of the sun showed that it was around four in the afternoon showing he was out for a few hours. “You could’ve slept inside.”

“It’s fine, I like sleeping outside.” Jaune said considering how used to it he was.

“At least you had enough sense to stay out of the rain.” Cremia remarked, helping him up. “Come on.”

Jaune was very confused by what was going on as Tatl yawned and flew into his hood to avoid the rain.

The confusion cleared away to surprise, when he was led into the house where Romani was setting the table which had a few different dishes, looking less tired due to sleeping as well.

“Mr. Knight!” Romani exclaimed on seeing him. “Come eat with us.”

“I-wha?” Jaune looked from Romani to Cremia who gave a kind smile.

“You haven’t eaten today and I don’t know if you ate yesterday given everything that’s happened,” Cremia explained as she sat down at one of the seats. “It’s not much but it’s the least we can do. Romani and I usually eat alone, so some company is appreciated.”

Jaune had no idea what to say, not expecting this at all.

The last time he sat at a table, eating with others was before he left home.

No, before he ran away from home without a word to anyone.

Just like that the crushing guilt he kept pushed down from that was beginning to eat away at him.

“Y-You don’t have to do this.” Jaune said despite how his stomach was rebelling against him due to the smell. “I didn’t do any of that to be given anything.”

“I know I don’t have to,” Cremia said with her tone telling him that she wasn’t taking no for an answer. “I want to.”

“Hurry up Mr. Knight, Big Sis Cremia is a great cook!” Romani said and after another second of hesitation, Jaune relented. “Ms. Fairy what about you?”

“I’m good.” Tatl said from inside of the hood, already absorbing some magic.

“Don’t be like that, you helped out as well.” Cremia pointed towards a small plate filled with fruits and berries.

Tatl went silent before flying out and near the plate. “Thank you.” She muttered, not expecting that herself.

It was quiet as they began to eat, Jaune forcing himself to eat slow because he almost began shoveling the food into his mouth once he started.

To be eating like this after so long, it was almost surreal to Jaune.

He would always eat on the go or at the Milk Bar, never with anyone else except for Tatl.

“How is it Mr. Knight?” Romani asked curiously, making Jaune tense a bit.

“Oh it’s… Delicious.” Jaune said, not sure what else to say.

“You don’t talk much do you?” Romani questioned, seeing how Jaune was acting.

The Blonde conceded that point.

His social skills have… Declined since he arrived in Termina.

“Romani,” Cremia shook her head at how her sister was being, though she looked a little red due to Jaune’s compliment on the food. “So Jaune, where are you from?”

That made Jaune tense up for another reason.

Even if this will be taken away when he goes back in time, there is no way he can say he was from another world, they wouldn’t believe him.

“I’m from… Far away, across the ocean,” Jaune said carefully, his explanation making Romani look very interested. “The Village I come from is pretty isolated, we usually keep to ourselves.”

That was something that was true, the elders had a nickname for the village, calling itself Kakariko despite how it wasn’t the real name.

“What’s it like there?” Romani asked in a gleeful manner, never meeting anyone that wasn’t from this area.

“... Dangerous, we have our own monsters there.” Jaune revealed, not calling them Grimm, but telling half-truths. “But I was usually confined to the Village until I left.”

“Why did you leave?” Romani asked despite Cremia giving her a warning look.

That wasn’t something you just ask someone.

“Because I wanted to see the world.” Jaune lied on that one, knowing they wouldn’t know what a Huntsman was. “And everything I’ve seen around this land was amazing.”

Even with the hardships he got to see sights that he would’ve never seen back home.

The swamp being purified, the Mountain becoming Spring. The place where the Guardian Deities reside was breathtaking in its own way. He got to see Magic, meet great people and see the wonders of Termina for himself.

“What about your family?” Cremia was the one to ask this time as Jaune went quiet, thinking about how they would react if they saw everything he went through.

Probably with horror in what he had to endure, no doubt his Dad would blame himself if he knew what was happening.

“I-... It’s complicated, I didn’t part on the best of terms,” He refused to tell them that he ran away. “I will go back someday though.”

That got to Romani. “Wait, you’re leaving Mr. Knight?” She sounded sad at hearing that.

Thankfully Tatl spoke up. “We have to, there’s a lot we need to do.” She said, sounding awkward, showing that she didn’t want to upset Romani.

But they couldn’t stay here, not with everything that’s happening or with so much at stake.

“B-But you could stay at the Ranch right? Big Sis?” Romani gave Cremia a pleading look as the older sister looked away. “Please Mr. Knight? You can teach Romani more about the bow.”

Jaune couldn’t look at Romani without feeling guilt because of how her face was pleading for him to stay.

Every part of him actually wanted to agree, out of all the people he’s met he bonded with these two the fastest and he didn’t want to lose that despite knowing there was no way to keep that bond.

“You can also sleep with Big Sis.”

“ _ ROMANI! _ ” Cremia exclaimed in shock that her sister said that, now looking very embarrassed with Jaune looking just as surprised while a choking sound could be heard from Tatl showing that she was swallowing some food when Romani suggested that.

Romani looked confused by their reaction. “But we only have two beds and Mr. Knight is too tall for Romani’s bed,” She said, showing that she didn’t mean it in that way. “Big Sis’s bed is big enough for both.”

“Uh I appreciate the… Thought,” Jaune was a bit red now and he swore Tatl was laughing at the situation now that she wasn’t choking. “B-But I have something I need to do.”

He couldn’t look at Romani whose face fell when her hopes for Jaune staying were crushed.

* * *

“I am so sorry for that.” Cremia apologized after dinner was over as she and Jaune exited the house, the rancher asking for help in making the delivery. “I didn’t expect for Romani to offer that.”

“I-It’s fine.” Jaune clearly wasn’t sure what else there was to say.

Cremia left Romani in charge along with Tatl staying behind to babysit despite the fairy protesting at first she agreed in the end.

So right now it was just going to be Jaune and Cremia.

Jaune was panicking a bit at being alone without Tatl, so used to her presence but he hid it well.

“In a way she reminded me of one of my sisters.” Jaune said in a tone full of nostalgia.

“One of them? You have sisters?” Cremia asked curiously, the two making it to the wagon.

“I have seven older sisters.” Jaune said bluntly and he wasn’t disappointed when Cremia gave him a look of shock with him grinning.

It never gets old seeing the faces some people make when they hear how many siblings he has.

“So it’s only you and Romani around here?” Jaune asked curiously as they finished loading the milk jars in the wagon.

Cremia didn’t answer at first until she got in the driver seat with Jaune in the back with the jars before she spoke up with the carriage now moving. “Ever since our father died.”

Hearing that made Jaune wince. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have asked.”

“It’s fine, you didn’t know.” Cremia said, a bit of a sad smile on her face. “It’s been awhile since he died and I’ve been trying to take care of the Ranch by myself, even if things have been getting unstable lately.”

Jaune didn’t miss how Cremia looked up at the moon when she spoke.

“The cows have been getting frazzled and I’ve been finding broken milk bottles lately, it’s only now that I realized it was the Gorman Brothers behind all of that,” Anger was now in Cremia’s tone at saying that part. “To think they would stoop so low.”

Nothing was said to continue that with Jaune thinking about his new mask and wondered if their obsession with putting Romani Ranch out of business stemmed from it?

He’ll need to ask the Mask Salesman to identify it.

“So we won’t be back until tomorrow?” Jaune asked, showing how uncomfortable he would be in being separated from Tatl until then.

It was strange not to have her fly around right now.

“I have a friend who will take us in for the night in town, her name is Anju, she runs the Stock Pot Inn,” Cremia explained, this time in a forlorn tone. “She’s also getting married the day after tomorrow.”

That made Jaune freeze.

The day the Carnival was going to happen, but tomorrow the moon was going to fall.

A Marriage that won’t happen unless he stops Skull Kid.

‘ _ It’ll happen I just need… More time. _ ’ Jaune looked down not looking forward to rewinding this particular cycle.

Forcing himself to be calm, Jaune continued. “You’re not happy for her?”

“N-No I am,” Cremia denied, shaking her head. “She’s my best friend. I should be happy for her.”

She wants to be, but the fiancé-.

“Kafei.” Cremia whispered in sorrow.

Now Jaune got it and he stopped asking questions.

It seemed that Cremia had feelings for the person her best friend was marrying.

Yeesh, that has to suck.

“Hm?” Cremia stopped the carriage as the path was blocked by a gate. “What’s going on?”

“When was this put here?” Jaune asked, a bit baffled as Cremia noticed the only path open was.

The road leading through the Gorman Brother’s property.

Jaune saw that and realized what was happening.

It seemed that Lionel was continuing the plans he and Harvey conducted.

But if he sees Jaune no doubt he will lose it.

“So the Gorman Brothers want to keep trying?” Cremia asked in anger with Jaune wincing.

Chances are that she’ll find out that it was only one of them.

So he cut to the chase.

“Harvey is dead.”

That made Cremia turn towards him in surprise.

“Part of the barn landed on him when I was trying to get Romani out of there, it crushed him,” Jaune half-lied, not saying it was ‘creatures’ made from a cursed mask. “Thankfully Romani didn’t see that part but Lionel is no doubt going to lose it if he sees me.”

“I see.” Cremia looked conflicted before determination showed. “But I need to deliver this to keep our ranch going, can I trust you to keep the bottles safe?”

Pulling out the Hero Bow, Jaune gave a nod as he notched an arrow.

Nothing else was said as they went down the path and after a few moments of tense silence, they heard a shout as Lionel began to chase them on a horse, wearing a sack that covered his face with two eye holes, most likely to try and hide his identity.

As he was going to go for the milk, Jaune shot an arrow past him to try and scare him off, but that made him zero in on Jaune.

“ _ YOU! _ ” Lionel shouted, nothing but rage in his tone. “ _ I’M GOING TO KILL YOU! _ ”

Cremia tensed up, horrified to hear that.

As much as she didn’t like the Gorman brothers now, she’s never heard any of them shout anything like that before.

“Get to Clock Town, I’ll catch up.” Jaune said, confusing Cremia.

“Catch up-what are you-?” She was cut off when Jaune jumped out of the back, rolling in momentum only to throw his shield up to block the pitchfork that swung to stab him. “ _ JAUNE! _ ”

“Just get going.” Jaune shouted as Lionel turned the horse around, too blinded by anger to even think of ruining the business.

He can worry about that after he avenges his brother.

Jaune could see Cremia looking towards him in concern and he knew that she didn’t like this, but she made the donkey attached to the carriage speed up.

Hopefully she can get to Clock Town fast enough to get the guards.

“You ruined everything!” Lionel exclaimed rushing at him as Jaune jumped out of the way.

He didn’t draw his sword because he truly didn’t want to hurt the guy.

“Lionel stop,” Jaune pleaded, trying to reach him. “This has gone far enough.”

He didn’t want to do this.

Yes Jaune knew deep down what he might have to do, but he was hoping it wouldn’t have to come to it.

Out of everything in Termina, the one thing he hasn’t done was kill a person, but with how things were going with Lionel, he might not have a choice.

‘ _ No don’t think like that, there has to be a way out of this without resorting to that. _ ’ Jaune told himself before hearing a familiar whine as Epona ran up to him.

A bit off guard, Jaune didn’t complain as he quickly got on her, ducking another swipe of Lionel’s pitchfork.

“Far enough?! After what you did?!” Lionel was practically foaming at the mouth with revenge. “If it wasn’t for you that ranch would be done for and Harvey would still be alive, this isn’t over until your dead boy!”

They were going at even speeds, with Jaune only blocking the attacks, trying desperately to find a way to end this.

But he could only think of one way.

‘ _ He’ll just be back in the next cycle. _ ’ Jaune told himself, mentally preparing himself for what he had to do as he blocked another strike. ‘ _ He won’t be dead for good. _ ’

Yet just thinking that scared him.

Jaune however snapped as Harvey aimed at Epona’s neck this time and he blocked it before jumping off, tackling the man off his horse, the two now rolling in the dirt with Jaune quickly getting to his feet as Lionel was struggling to get up, his mask torn off from what happened.

“If you don’t stop now you’ll force my hand.” Jaune pleaded one last time, now drawing his sword. “You have another brother to think about, please.”

Lionel actually paused at the mention of Ingo with Jaune hoping that he reached him, but the man shook it off and lunged at Jaune who grimaced before he did a spin attack, to slice through the pitchfork and performed the shield bash to send him on his back.

From there he did the Ending Blow with the sword piercing his chest.

Lionel coughed up blood at that, glaring at Jaune with hate-filled eyes that were gaining a glazed look while his breathing was getting labored.

The blonde was shaking as he realized what he just did right when Lionel’s eyes rolled and his head fell to the side, with his last breath leaving his body.

“He didn’t give me a choice.” Jaune whispered, trying to tell himself that. “I-I had to do it.”

It was self-defence.

Yet those words were sounding very hollowed to him as his shoulders began to shake.

A low whine made him look to see Epona coming up to him with a concerned look as Jaune choked out a sob.

He just killed someone.

Not a monster, but a person.

Epona neighed and pressed her head against him as if trying to comfort him as Jaune sobbed.

* * *

He had no idea how long he stayed there but he got on Epona after a bit and began to ride to Clock Town in a slow manner only to stop when he saw Guards approaching on horses.

A bit surprised, he slowed Epona down as they did the same, he could see them look wary, mostly because of the dried blood on his hands and Jaune knew this looked bad.

“Blonde hair, are you Jaune Arc?” One of them asked with Jaune now confused, but he gave a nod. “A woman named Cremia gave your description and told us what was happening, are you hurt?”

Now seeing what was going on, Jaune shook his head.

“And Lionel Ingo?”

It didn’t take a genius to figure out what happened as Jaune hung his head. “I tried to get him to stop, but he kept attacking.” He whispered and the guard was silent as he heard that.

“I see, we’ll have to escort you back to Clock Town.” The Guard said with Jaune understanding that before the man turned towards the other guards. “You two go ahead and take care of the blocked path.”

It took no time at all for them to get to Clock Town where he saw Cremia waiting with a worried look only for her eyes to widen when she saw him on Epona, but she was more concerned about seeing the forlorn expression in his eyes despite the smile he gave.

“Jaune, are you alright?” Cremia asked running to him as Epona barely came to a stop. “I tried to get the guards as fast as I could, are you hurt?”

“No, I’m fine thanks to Epona.”

Epona neighed with a shake of her head.

That was when Cremia saw the dry blood on his hand and realized what Jaune did, something that made his smile drop.

“For what it’s worth you’re not in trouble, from Cremia’s reports of how the man acted, it was in self defense.” The Guard said to Jaune, confirming what Cremia was thinking happened. “If you ever need someone to talk about it to though just ask for Eagus.”

“Eagus?” Jaune asked as the man took his helmet off to show neatly groomed brown hair that was spiked on the end.

“That’s my name, I’m the captain of the Guards here and I’ve helped them deal with stuff like this, my advice is not to push it down.” Eagus said while Jaune winced knowing he wouldn’t be able to talk to the man about it after the next day.

But he did appreciate it.

“Now let’s get that horse of yours in the stable for the night.” Eagus led the way while Jaune protested. “And you should probably wash your hands to avoid scaring people.”

“E-Epona isn’t my horse.”

* * *

“Cremia?” The moment they walked into Stock Pot Inn, the woman at the desk glanced up in surprise with short shoulder-length dark red hair wearing a long blue skirt, a white shirt and a brown sleeveless vest. “It is you, how have you been?”

Despite what happened, Cremia smiled and walked over, hugging the woman. “I’ve been better Anju, sorry I haven’t kept in touch the last few days.”

“I heard the road to Milk Road was blocked by a boulder, I take it since you’re here it’s clear?” Anju asked, smiling though she looked from her to Jaune who kept quiet rather awkwardly. “Oh? Who’s this?”

“This is Jaune, he’s been a big help to the Ranch.” Cremia introduced them. “Jaune, this is Anju that friend I told you about.”

“The one getting married?” Jaune asked, the seemingly innocent question making the smile drop off Anju’s face.

Something Cremia was quick to notice. “What’s wrong?”

Anju just let out a mirthless chuckle. “Since you don’t know that proves my Mother wrong,” She said, confusing Cremia before the woman got to the point. “Kafei disappeared two weeks ago.”

Hearing that, Cremia gasped. “What happened? Are you alright?”

“I’m fine, it’s just no one has seen him in so long, I’m scared for him.” Anju whispered with Cremia pulling her into a comforting hug.

‘ _ Prove her mother wrong? _ ’ Jaune was confused by those words but he kept his mouth shut, not wanting to make it worse.

Turns out he didn’t need to as Cremia asked. “What did you mean we proved your mother wrong?”

Anju went quiet, not sure how to explain that, looking down in shame. “Mom thought he ran off to the ranch to be with you.”

“What?!” Cremia looked outraged that they thought that. “Why would she think that?!”

“Cremia, we have guests,” Anju said, not wanting to wake them up due to how late it was getting, not to mention her Grandmother was asleep right now. “And I knew he didn’t, neither of you are like that. You know how Mom can be.”

Hearing that made Cremia calm down, though she still looked irked it wasn’t at her friend.

“Still enough about my problems, I’m happy you’ve been getting some help with the Ranch,” Anju said smiling at Cremia to hide her worries before turning to Jaune. “And thank you for being there for Cremia, it’s not often that she trusts people to do so.”

“Anju!” Cremia remarked with the Inn Owner shrugging.

“What? It’s true, it took years for Kafei and I to get you to be comfortable around us.” Anju pointed out with Cremia looking embarrassed. “How’s Romani?”

“She’s doing great, there was an incident that involved the Gorman Brothers,” Cremia didn’t miss how Jaune tensed up at the mention. “But it was resolved, she’s currently staying at the Ranch.”

“By herself?” Anju looked concerned, not missing the blonde tense up as well.

“No with Tatl, I have a fairy that travels with me, she’s keeping watch over Romani.” Jaune forced himself to say.

Anju looked rather surprised as she knew fairies usually kept to themselves or around children, so for one to travel with Jaune was almost unheard of.

“Well it’s getting late and we still have the room you kept reserved for you,” Anju began before wincing. “But it’s the only room we have open.”

Cremia went quiet before realizing the issue as that room only had one bed given how she always came over by herself or with her little sister, so they never had a need for a room with two beds.

Jaune blinked and looked between them before realizing it as he had a feeling on what the issue would be.

“It’s fine, I prefer to be outside.” Jaune said given how used he was to running with little to no sleep. 

He can go two to three days with no sleep now if he wants to and the rewinds actually restore his energy to where he’s not affected by it. It really made exploring Termina much easier.

“You don’t have to,” Cremia shook her head at the blonde, forcing the embarrassment down. “It’s just for one night.”

“Here’s the key to the room,” Anju handed Cremia the key. “I’ll be closing soon and heading for the Milk Bar, you want to go?”

“After tonight I could use a drink.” Cremia agreed before thinking of something. “Hang on Jaune, here.”

Reaching into her bag, Jaune was pretty much dumbfounded as Cremia pulled out a mask that looked like a cow shaped hood.

“This is the Romani Mask, and before you ask it was named after the person who founded our Ranch not my sister,” Cremia explained to Jaune who accepted it curiously. “In case you want to come to the Milk Bar as well since it’s members only, with that mask you’ll be seen as an adult.”

‘ _ Really? _ ’ Jaune was rather skeptical given how childish it seemed but he did have to remind himself about the culture of this land revolved around masks and it made sense for them to have one in place of a license, so he supposed he could cut them some slack.

So with a grateful smile, he pocketed the mask putting it next to the one he obtained from the Gorman Brothers, trying very hard not to look at it as he swore the eyes glowed.

** _To Be Continued…_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew, finally finished this chapter and I have one more to type before the Romani Ranch Side Quest is finished or at least my version of it and damn this chapter went from being dark to happy and then another dark turn with the Gorman Brothers officially dead in this cycle and Jaune experiencing his first kill.
> 
> Or rather his first ‘Human’ kill given how he only killed monsters up until now, which had him break down a bit, but now he’s bottling it all up which will backfire on him after this cycle.
> 
> I’m curious if anyone expected for the story to take such a dark turn here?
> 
> Anyways we also had cute moments with the sisters at the Ranch as Jaune actually sat down at a dinner table with a family for the first time since leaving home in Remnant, so it was something he needed, but it’ll also make things heartbreaking when he needs to restart the three day cycle.
> 
> Furthermore we have talks of Kafei showing that Jaune is now aware of him missing and I introduced Eagus who was a Knight in Skyward Sword by having him be Captain of the Clock Town Guards in this story to help flesh things out a bit.
> 
> I also dropped the bomb about Jaune’s ‘home’ being referred to by the Elders as Kakariko but keeping it vague in hopes that his actual home will be revealed in the upcoming volume to avoid having to go back and change a lot.
> 
> Still this chapter took way too long with everything and I’m sorry for that, I’ve been having a ton of fun typing the Miraculous Ladybug story I’ve been doing.
> 
> But I also had to retype this chapter so many times, having lost the original and the two back-ups I had due to an issue with my computer and then suddenly another version disappeared for no damn reason which pissed me off.
> 
> That’s why I made sure to have five backups of this one just in case.
> 
> Oh and someone sent me a message asking if I planned to have a reaction story for this one and I have to say I was surprised by that, I have a guilty pleasure for reading those type of stories such as Let’s Watch Apotheosis, which I read in tandem with the story it’s reacting to, I don’t know why I just liked seeing what people type out as the reactions. But I figured I should answer the question. No, I don’t plan to have a reaction story for this, though it would honestly be cool to see something like that, but I honestly don’t see it happening.


	14. Resolve

Jaune stared at the glass of milk in front of him, not touching it for a few seconds.

Now that he knows that the milk around here was pretty much alcohol, he was a bit iffy on drinking it, especially this one that was called Chateau Romani.

Apparently it was their most requested drink ever, something about the cows from Romani Ranch allows for them to make this, something Jaune really didn’t understand.

Were they bred to produce magic milk or something like that?

He’s still surprised about the fact that milk was alcoholic to people here.

“Is something wrong?” Cremia asked, seeing that he hadn't touched his drink while she already drank a bit of hers while talking to Anju.

“Uh, not sure if me drinking is a good idea or not.” Jaune answered truthfully. “Back home milk doesn’t get people drunk.”

“Sounds boring.” The Bartender commented, wiping a glass with a rag.

“Considering how kids drink milk back home probably for the best.” Jaune deadpanned as the man shrugged before looking at Cremia.

“Thanks again for the delivery by the way, we were really scraping the bottom of the barrel the last few days.”

“It’s no problem Talon, I’m sorry it took so long.” Cremia smiled at the man who has been one of her family's most treasured customers. “Hopefully your business hasn’t been affected that much.”

“What business? Usually it’s the busiest time of the year, but now I’ll be lucky to have anyone in during the Festival, if it hasn’t been cancelled already.” Talon sounded despondent as that killed the mood, reminding everyone of the moon and how panicked people get on the second to third day.

Jaune himself lowered his head at hearing that, glaring at the glass, cursing Skull Kid once more.

He then raised the glass and took a sip, almost choking from how the milk was burning his throat.

‘ _ By the Giants, this was some strong stuff! _ ’

He then realized what he thought.

‘ _ I’m starting to consider myself more of a Terminan rather than being from Remnant. _ ’ Jaune figured considering how long he’s been here.

The Great Fairy did say it’s been a year since he arrived here, if that was true it’s been a year since he’s been seen in Remnant.

Chances are if there was a search party he was probably declared dead by now.

Unless time was rewinding in Remnant too.

If not he’ll have a hell of a time explaining how he was still seventeen along with his ears when he meets up with his family again.

Come to think of it, how is it that he hasn’t aged, yet the muscles he gained remained?

Great, now he was giving himself a headache trying to make sense of his brand of time travel.

“Another!” Cremia declared finishing her drink while Anju smiled, happy to have something she considered normal after the last two weeks.

Jaune refrained from chuckling, a bit surprised at this new side of Cremia even though he'd only known her for a day at most as he took another sip, this time more prepared for how strong the milk was.

Talon gave a smirk at the sudden change in atmosphere, liking the levity that was now in the bar, this time pouring three glasses and sliding them towards the three with the blonde catching his while he still had his first a bit surprised.

Guess this was going to be happening, he didn’t want to be rude.

‘ _ I guess one night of drinking won’t hurt anyone. _ ’ Jaune decided, now finishing his first glass.

Talon looked from the three to another spot where a glass was left, feeling pretty worried.

That was something Anju noticed. “Are you alright Talon?”

“I don’t know, the Guards came in to escort Ingo out, apparently they had news to share with him.” Talen explained with Jaune choking on his second glass while Cremia tensed.

Jaune forgot that Ingo usually hangs out at the Milk Bar, and he had a feeling what the news they wanted to share was.

‘ _ Poor guy. _ ’ Jaune felt pity for Ingo along with guilt.

Out of the three Gorman Brothers, apparently Ingo was the smarter one because he left their ranch behind to become a showman of a band.

Just like how Jaune left home to head to Beacon.

He couldn’t imagine how it must feel to be told your siblings were dead, hell he would’ve been devastated if someone told him his sisters were dead.

As if sensing his guilt, Cremia placed a hand on his shoulder already guessing what he was thinking from how he lowered his head.

Was he becoming that transparent?

Talon raised a brow at the interaction, wondering if they knew what it was about before shrugging it off.

It wasn’t any of his business, he just hoped that Ingo was alright.

* * *

An hour later they were stumbling back to the Stock Pot Inn, red in the face from how much they drank, Talon having to stop them after the fifth glass with that being the limit.

Thankfully the Inn was literally next door to the Milk Bar so they didn’t have to go too far and a knight was nearby, guarding the exit out of town so no one would bother them on their way back.

They just had a bit of trouble getting in because Anju had to remember where the key was.

Jaune was pretty plastered at this point, stumbling more then they were showing how the two were pretty heavy drinkers or rather used to it while he was pretty light in comparison, already drunk after the third glass.

The girls pretty much drank him under the table.

He ended up tripping and doing a faceplant the moment they walked in the door, leaving for Cremia to give out a slight giggle while he groaned, not even feeling it.

“He’s definitely going to have a hangover tomorrow.” Anju said a bit amused, while Cremia gave a nod. “Then again we all will.”

Though it won’t be as bad as his will be.

“Come on Jaune.” Cremia helped him up as the blonde just laid there, not wanting to move.

“Are you an angel? Your face is pretty.” Jaune slurred out with Cremia’s face now matching the shade of her hair, not expecting that line while Anju gave a chuckle, finding this rather funny.

“You need help getting him up the stairs, miss angel?” Anju asked poking some fun while Cremia gave her a look.

“I can manage.”

Jaune was singing incoherently as they walked up the stairs, though Cremia shushed him considering there were other guests but he kept going even then.

“~This will be the day we’ve waited for, This will be the day we open up the door.~” Jaune was very off key as he sang with Cremia now wondering what song that was, never hearing it before. “~I don’t want to hear your absolution, hope your ready for a revolution!~”

But she managed to find the room and open the door with the two now stumbling in as she now remembered the problem with this particular room.

One bed.

Jaune however didn’t realize she came to a stop as he took a step forward only to nearly fall again before Cremia pulled a bit to keep that from happening.

Using her foot to close the door, Cremia led him to the bed where he collapsed face first, leaving for her to give a small laugh.

“I wonder what Romani would say if she could see you know ‘Mr. Knight’?” Cremia asked before deciding to help him remove his sword and shield given how they were still on his back and that wouldn’t be comfortable.

“Not a knight.” Jaune muffled though the bed, still slurring but this time he gave a hiccup before pushing himself up to sit, nearly falling off.

That was when Cremia noticed that his eyes were starting to focus a bit. “Are you getting sober already?” She asked a bit astonished by how fast it seemed to be wearing off.

Usually it takes hours.

Jaune just shrugged, his head swaying from side to side. “Don’t know, never been drunk before.” He managed to get out without slurring.

It probably had something to do with his magic enhancing his metabolism a bit, he’ll think more on it later when he can actually focus.

At least he wasn’t in danger from anymore face plants.

It was when Cremia sat on the other side of the bed that a realization dawned through what was left of Jaune’s drunken haze.

He was alone, in a room with a girl, who weren’t any of his sisters, about to share a bed.

The realization made his pupils dilate a bit as he quickly looked away, not trusting himself to say anything and not wanting to make this more awkward than it was going to be while Cremia yawned.

“Still we should get some sleep, hopefully Romani hasn’t worn down your fairy companion’s patience.” Cremia sounded very amused due to knowing how her little sister could be.

When no answer came, Cremia glanced at Jaune who didn’t meet her gaze.

That was when Tatl’s words from when they met went through Cremia’s mind, making her look away.

‘ _ Don’t mind Jaune, he’s not used to talking to girls. _ ’

Great, now she was feeling nervous.

Idly tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, Cremia glanced back at Jaune, biting her lower lip in thought.

To tell the truth the feeling was rather mutual.

She wasn’t that used to talking to other guys, Kafei was practically the only one she did talk to growing up with the exception of Talon who was practically a member of the family. When her father died she had to manage the Ranch with no time for her to socialize with others leaving her out of practice.

And she won’t deny that she found Jaune rather attractive, but she was pretty sure that was the drinks and lack of social interaction talking.

‘ _ Stop, you’ve only known him for two days. _ ’ Cremia told herself, shaking her head to get rid of those thoughts.

But in those two days he’s already done so much for her and her sister, all without expecting anything in return from what she was able to gather.

Jaune on the other hand kept sneaking glances as he kept one hand on his arm, his nerves clearly showing.

‘ _ Come on, say something, be normal. _ ’ Jaune tried to tell himself, but he couldn’t force anything out. ‘ _ Really wish you were here Tatl. _ ’

At least then they wouldn’t be left in such an awkward silence.

Perhaps he should try and sleep on the floor, wouldn’t that be the gentleman thing to do?

“Hey I-,” Jaune went to say that, but Cremia spoke up at the same time.

“You-.”

They both stopped, waiting for the other to continue, but Jaune found himself staring into her blue eyes a bit and felt his mouth go dry.

The next thing they knew the two were sharing a kiss.

Neither of them knew who made the first move, perhaps they both did.

Normally both of them would’ve realized what they did and stopped, but the drinks in their system lowered their inhibitions enough to where it continued.

Eventually they did separate only to find that they were both on the bed with Jaune leaning over Cremia, the two of them getting lost in the moment before it continued.

~ ** _Dawn of the Final Day~_ **

** _-Twenty-Four Hours Remain-_ **

Jaune found himself waking up first in the morning with his head hurting and body aching.

“What happened-?” Jaune muttered only to realize a few things.

One, he wasn’t wearing any clothes.

Two, he could see both his and Cremia’s clothes on the floor.

Three, Cremia was still asleep next to him, the covers barely hiding her modesty.

Just like that he realized what happened.

‘ _ Did we-but I-. _ ’ Jaune found himself almost spluttering in shock, the memories of the other night going through his head. ‘ _ O-Oh. _ ’

Now with his face resembling a tomato, Jaune found himself worried.

D-Did he take advantage of her?

They were both drunk in a way, so he was very worried about that.

Trying to think, Jaune was positive that didn’t happen. He could remember that they both acted.

Feeling the bed shift, Jaune glanced over to see that Cremia woke up just as sore and she seemed to come to the same realization once she took in the scene before their eyes met.

“Um… Morning?” Jaune tried sounding very unsure.

“Morning.” Cremia returned, her ears lowering in embarrassment.

It seemed she remembered the other night just as well.

As the silence continued, Cremia glanced back at Jaune, this time however her eyes were looking at the amount of scars that he had.

She saw them the other night, but they didn’t really register until now.

‘ _ Just what has he fought to gain them? _ ’ Cremia found herself wondering in concern.

She recognized the wolfos claw mark, but the other ones such as the one on his side where it looked like he got impaled by something and then the burn on his chest that went through his back which was more recent then the other ones with it being right next to what looked like a cut from a sword.

“So uh-I-we should get dressed.” Jaune said, clearly trying to get rid of the silence with Cremia agreeing with that.

Neither of them looked at each other as they got dressed.

Jaune was trying to figure out what to say.

Should he say that last night was amazing? Cause it was. Should he apologize for doing this drunk? Would apologizing make it worse?

What can he say?

None of his Dad’s advice had anything to deal with this and even if there was there would be no way he would use it given how bad the lines he was given really turned out to be.

Soon enough they were both dressed and back to being awkward.

Finally Cremia broke the silence.

“I’m sorry.”

That threw Jaune through a loop, clearly not expecting that.

“I was the least drunk between the two of us, I shouldn’t have let everything escalate like that.” Cremia continued, clasping her hands together nervously. “Especially after what happened.”

Just like that the mood dipped further as Jaune was reminded of Lionel’s death, but he shook it off. “It’s fine, we both acted.” He said, forcing a smile on his face to put her at ease. “It was great-wait no I mean it-uh I-.”

There he went putting his foot in his mouth again as Cremia’s face was once more red, but she smiled.

“It was.”

Oh thank the Giants, he didn’t make it worse.

Sheepishly rubbing the back of his head, Jaune smiled. “I honestly had no idea what I was doing.” He admitted.

That earned a small laugh from Cremia who gave a nod in return. “That makes two of us,” She said to him before thinking about what to say. “Thank you.”

Any further conversation was cut off by the ground shaking nearly making them fall as Jaune quickly grabbed Cremia by the wrist to keep them both steady as his mind realized what was going on.

This was the last day.

Which meant that today he would have to restart the cycle and just like that any type of enjoyment and happiness vanished as he knew that after that Cremia and Romani wouldn’t remember him.

The realization tore him in two.

Cremia didn’t see the realization dawn as she looked rather panicked. “An Earthquake?!” She asked, Jaune quickly schooled his features before the shaking stopped.

“Come on, we should get going.” Jaune said knowing that Tatl must be freaking the hell out by this point and Romani was probably scared.

He didn’t want to think about restarting the cycle right now.

* * *

Making it downstairs, the two of them saw the other guests that were staying at the Inn were rather panicked as Anju, along with her Mother were trying to get them to calm down.

Though they looked just as panicked.

“Everyone I know everything seems bleak, but panicking won’t help.” Anju tried to speak over the voices. “We’ll be evacuating very soon.”

“Evacuating?!” The voice belonged to Guru-Guru who Jaune recognized as the man who gave him the Bremen Mask all those cycles ago. “Where in Termina do you think we’ll be able to get away from that rock in the sky?!”

“He’s right there’s no way we’ll escape it, we’re doomed!”

“We can’t stay in Clock Town.” Another person disagreed.

Anju looked very unsure of how things were going before Cremia spoke up.

“Everyone can evacuate to the Romani Ranch, I have enough room for everyone here.” Cremia offered to try and help out before glancing at Anju who gave a nod of thanks.

Jaune kept quiet as the arguing continued, intensifying.

Out of everyone here he seemed to be the calmest one, probably due to being so used to the idea of the moon falling that it barely phases him anymore.

But seeing all of this panicking, it just made him more determined to put a stop to Skull Kid.

He almost left to confront the Imp to end it this cycle, knowing exactly where he would be.

However the memory of their last confrontation went through his head and it was enough to calm him down.

He was nowhere near ready for him and he can’t be rash.

Plus he’s pretty sure Tatl would kill him if he tried that.

* * *

Nothing happened as he rode Epona who had some reins on her right now and a saddle, helping out with the escort, the monsters out in Termina Field practically going to ground from the chaos showing that even they knew the world was ending.

Epona shook her head, rather nervous before Jaune petted her neck in a calming manner, learning that from his short time on the Ranch, glancing up at the Moon with a glare.

Meanwhile Cremia was in the lead carriage, heading for the Ranch while Anju was sitting with her.

“Thank you for offering the ranch as a place to evacuate.” Anju said to her old friend with Cremia giving a nod.

“They needed a place to feel safe.”

But neither of them said that they knew it was useless.

There was no safe place anymore.

“Does Romani know?” Anju asked, glancing up at the moon with Cremia understanding.

“No she doesn’t,” Cremia gave a sad smile. “She thinks we’re still having the festival tomorrow.”

“I really envy that, not knowing.” Anju admitted with Cremia nodding in agreement.

Everything seems so much simpler when you’re younger.

“I don’t have the heart to tell her.”

She wanted Romani to live her last moments in happiness, not in despair.

Which is why she will not let anyone tell her what’s going on.

She won’t let anyone take that happiness away from her.

Looking away from the road, Cremia glanced at Jaune only to see him glaring at the moon without a trace of fear showing, something that astonished her.

How could anyone not fear what was going on?

Following her gaze, Anju nudged her. “By the way you were pretty loud last night.”

Cremia stiffened up, eyes wide in horror as she didn’t even think about that. “Oh Giants.”

That was enough for Anju to let out a laugh, the two of them no longer feeling the fear from the world coming to an end. “Don’t worry I’m happy for you.”

If not a little jealous.

If only they found Kafei before all this happened.

‘ _ Where are you? _ ’ Anju found herself wondering, now feeling down once more, remembering how two days ago she received a letter from him detailing a location and time.

But she went and Kafei never showed, leaving her to wonder if it was nothing more than a cruel trick.

“You know Romani took a shine to him, I think she adopted him as an older brother.” Cremia commented remembering how quickly her little sister seemed to bond with Jaune. “She tried to offer my bed to get him to stay.”

That was enough to bring Anju out of her funk, a laugh of disbelief emanating from her, imagining that. “She didn’t!”

“She did.” Cremia confirmed, happy to see that it worked as she noticed how down Anju was being. “Gave him a nickname and everything.”

* * *

“Big Sis! Mr. Knight!” Romani greeted with a wide smile as everyone rode into the ranch while Tatl flew towards Jaune and landed on his shoulder.

“Thank the Giants, I thought you guys would never get back.” Tatl complained as it was a bit of a nightmare to try and keep Romani entertained.

She was a great child, but she had so much energy.

“Sorry about that.” Jaune sounded amused, something that Tatl caught immediately if the look she gave him was any indication before she noticed something.

“Is that a hickey?”

Eyes widening, Jaune quickly covered it as Tatl realized what happened and rang with laughter.

“Look at you Deku Boy, looks like your lines worked.”

“S-Shut up.” Jaune sounded embarrassed despite knowing that Tatl was only joking, making the fairy laugh harder.

“Still it’s good to see you found the horse, Romani was beside herself in worry when Epona suddenly bolted out of the ranch, jumping over the closed gate and everything.” Tatl commented as Jaune went quiet. “Any idea what that was about?”

Jaune kept quiet, leading for Tatl to realize that something indeed did happen.

“What did I miss?”

“... I’ll tell you later.” Jaune promised, his hollow tone now worrying Tatl.

Looking up, it seemed that everyone came to a stop while he conversed with Tatl and Cremia was leading everyone to the places to stay as the ground shook again.

So he got off Epona who butted his shoulder with her head, leaving for him to stroke it. “Thank you Epona.” Jaune said with the mare neighing in response.

“Mr. Knight!” Romani ran towards him while her sister was busy. “Can you show Romani more about the bow?”

Finding this to be a great distraction, Jaune smiled. “Of course.”

Romani cheered at that.

~ ** _Night of the Final Day~_ **

** _-Twelve Hours Remain-_ **

Tatl was at a loss for words after Jaune explained everything that happened since they left the Ranch the other night after spending the last few hours teaching Romani as much as he could about the bow.

Currently they were right next to the horse pen with Epona out in the field eating grass.

“I should’ve been there.” Tatl said, guilt flowing through her for leaving her friend to deal with that by himself.

He was left alone for one night and this happened.

“Tatl, I’m fine.” Jaune tried but the fairy was having none of it.

“Don’t you dare lie to me, everyone else might fall for it, but I’ve been with you since the beginning of these cycles,” Tatl snapped, getting right in his face, glowing bright with indignation. “Do you honestly believe I would believe you’re fine after everything?!”

Jaune said nothing to that, knowing she was right.

After all no one knows him better than Tatl in this world.

“Look I get you don’t want to talk about it, but you can’t bottle it up.”

“Eagus told me that already.” Jaune snapped a bit harshly.

“I have no clue who this Eagus is but he’s right.” Tatl continued as if she wasn’t interrupted. “Remember what I told you at Snowhead?”

At that Jaune flinched, remembering how Tatl nearly died in their fight against Goht.

“Or am I not your friend?”

“Of course you are!” Jaune was appalled that Tatl even asked that.

“Then you know you can talk to me!” Tatl exclaimed this time flying into his head, lightly as if to tap him. “You’re not alone, remember that.”

It was silent before Jaune relented. “I’m scared.” He confessed.

“That’s understandable, everyone is scared.” Tatl said, thinking he meant about the moon crashing.

“No you don’t understand, back when we confronted the Gorman Brothers, I actually thought about killing them.” Jaune said, Tatl going quiet in shock. “Because they’ll just be back in the next cycle.”

“How long have you been thinking that?” Tatl asked, now understanding the real reason.

“It only occurred to me this time,” Jaune looked up at Tatl with fear on his face. “I’m not seeing the people of Termina as people, I’m becoming so distant that I just use the excuse of the Song of Time to do something because with it nothing matters due to how it’s all erased.”

And that terrified him.

“How long until I become like Skull Kid?”

“Don’t you fucking dare!” Jaune whipped his head towards Tatl in shock, never hearing her curse like that before as she glowed bright in fury. “You are nothing like him!”

“Tatl-.” Jaune went to continue, but Tatl got in his face, cutting him off.

“Shut it, you spoke your piece, well here’s mine,” Tatl snarled, most likely pissed off that Jaune would even think like that. “You are the most compassionate person I’ve ever met, no matter what happened you treated people with nothing but kindness and always strived to help them, to ease their pain even if it causes you misery.”

Memories of all the people he’s helped since arriving to Termina as a Deku Scrub went through her head.

“You forgave me even if you had every reason to hate me, you helped the old lady who owned the Bomb Shop from being robbed, you listened to a man cry about his troubles, you put your life on the line each and every damn day saving everyone you could, you cleansed the Swamp from being poisoned and even kept the faith of the Gorons alive during the blizzard.” Tatl was now shaking. “And here even when you’re injured and recovering after that last close call you put that aside to help this place, to help a young child keep their innocence and you think you’ll turn out like Skull Kid after all that?!”

“But-.”

“ _ BUT NOTHING! _ ” Tatl roared, trying to get it through his thick head. “Skull Kid has become a monster set on destroying Termina, yes you killed someone but you did that to save a life and you tried everything you could for another way to end it. The fact that you feel guilt and fear about that proves you’re nothing like him.”

Taking a deep breath to calm down, Tatl actually had her light die down much to Jaune’s shock, showing her to have blonde hair in pigtails, wearing a small dress from a white cloth.

Remembering her reaction to him asking what she looked like without a light, Jaune knew this was a big deal for Tatl to do this.

“So please,” This time there was a choked sob as Tatl looked at him with tear-stained green eyes. “Don’t think like that. Don’t ever compare yourself to him.”

“Tatl I-.” Jaune looked down in shame, not meaning to make his friend cry like that.

But how could he not think like that?

The more he rewinds time the more he’ll feel like this.

It scares him because of how easily he could make excuses with the Song of Time. It was a power that made consequences non-existent, as long as he played it he could get away with anything because no one remembered the other cycles.

Closing his eyes, Jaune clenched a fist and reopened them to show determination showing. “You’re right,” He said with Tatl blinking, some of the tears out. “What was I thinking?”

He will never be like him.

“No more self doubt,” Jaune whispered trying to convince himself of that. “No more what ifs or feeling sorry for myself.”

He’ll train harder than ever to make sure what happened this cycle never happened again. And if he fails he’ll push himself even harder to make up for it.

So he smiled at Tatl. “Thank you, if it wasn’t for you I would’ve lost myself a long time ago.” He said honestly.

Tatl was the one bond he made in Termina that was never erased, as long as she was with him he’ll always be on the right path.

Wiping the tears out of her eyes, Tatl spoke up, lighting back up. “Well of course, someone has to make sure you keep your head Deku Boy.” She said, acting like how she usually did and Jaune appreciated that. “So, you won’t think like that again?”

“An Arc never-.” Jaune began but Tatl cut him off.

“Goes back on his word, I remember that.”

It seemed so long ago that he first said that line, the cycle where he first met the Swordsman.

The ground shook once more as they glanced up.

“We’ll need to go soon.” Tatl said, her wings drooping as Jaune gave a nod.

“Let me say good-bye.”

* * *

It took no time at all to find both Cremia and Romani as they were in the barn with one of the cows, Cremia milking it.

“Mr. Knight!” Romani exclaimed upon seeing Jaune who smiled in response. “Guess what!”

Cupping his chin, playing along Jaune shrugged. “I give up, what?”

“We’re milking the cows for some Chateau Romani!” Romani was jogging in place with excitement. “Cremia is letting me drink some too, it’s the first time Romani gets to drink it.”

“Oh?” Jaune nearly had his smile drop as he looked from Romani to Cremia who wouldn’t meet his gaze.

Romani nodded rather enthusiastically. “Yes, Cremia always told Romani to wait until she was an adult,” An odd look crossed her face as she turned towards Cremia. “But why now?”

There wasn’t any suspicion in her tone, just curiosity and childish wonder.

Choking back some tears, Cremia answered. “You’re an adult now,” She said, turning to look Romani in the eyes, seeing the wonder change back to excitement. “I see it in you and I acknowledge it.”

“Then, does Romani get a mask too?” Romani asked moving to stand next to Cremia, being on her tiptoes with a tone full of hope.

“Y-Yes.” Cremia managed to force out, turning to hug Romani, surprising her sister. “I’ll make it myself.”

“Cremia?” Romani seemed to sense that something was wrong.

“It’s nothing I-... Sleep in my bed with me tonight.” Cremia requested as Jaune watched, his heart practically shattering in realization.

Cremia was going to get Romani drunk so her little sister wouldn’t feel a thing when the moon crashes into Termina.

“Mr. Knight, are you staying with us tonight?” Romani asked, hopefully turning towards Jaune after Cremia finished hugging her.

“Just for tonight.” Jaune promised as he’ll play the Song of Time when Romani is asleep.

He could see Cremia’s grateful look when he promised that as Romani gave him a hug too.

“Mr. Knight I know you have to leave soon, but I wish you could stay at the Ranch forever.” Romani admitted with Jaune returning the hug.

‘ _ So do I. _ ’ Jaune realized and for one moment he wanted to be selfish.

He wanted to play the Song of Time right there and bring both Cremia and Romani back with him. To never lose the bond he made with both of them.

Was it so wrong to want to keep that bond?

But deep down, Jaune knew he couldn’t do that.

To do so would be bringing nothing but pain and misery to their lives, to expose them to the true horrors of Termina and Skull Kid’s machinations. To put them in danger.

No matter how selfish he wanted to be he can’t do that.

He hugged Romani tightly at that.

As Romani ran out to put her bow up, Cremia spoke. “Thank you for keeping her happy.” She said, giving a sad smile.

“There will be a tomorrow.”

Jaune said that without thinking and that surprised Cremia. “Don’t, please don’t say that.”

She already came to terms with the end of the world, she doesn’t need anyone trying to bring hope that wouldn’t come.

Jaune nodded to show that he understood.

Cremia tried to focus on milking the cow, but Jaune’s words kept going through her head and she sighed. “How can you be sure there will be a tomorrow?”

Initially surprised, Jaune answered, thinking about it. “Because you have to have hope, even when things seem bleak.” He said looking outside of the barn where he could see Romani running with the dog that the sisters had. “It’s hard and at times you want to give in, but in the end there’s always a reason to keep hope.”

Hearing that, Cremia shook her head. “That’s easier said than done.”

“It always is.” Jaune agreed, remembering all the times he felt hopeless, including the more recent one. “But it’s worth keeping around.”

After a few moments, Cremia let out an emotionless laugh. “You are a strange person Jaune, just about everyone has given up hope, yet here you are keeping it, how do you do it?”

Jaune gave a sad smile. “I remind myself that I’m not alone.”

* * *

Meanwhile in Clock Town, a man was standing on top of the unfinished festival tower that would’ve allowed many of the residents of Clock Town to go into the Tower.

Ingo Gorman just gazed up at the moon with a look of sadness on his face, carrying a bottle of Chateau Romani, a few empty bottles near him as he stood near the edge, teetering.

“Lionel. Harvey.” He whispered thinking of his brothers.

The brothers he abandoned once he was old enough to leave the ranch.

He was told what happened, but he was able to draw his own conclusions that the Guards didn’t know, especially when he visited the family ranch and saw what was left of Harvey.

“I told you idiots that mask was nothing but trouble.” Ingo said, his voice cracking up in anguish.

He remembered how happy they were when they were children, how they did plan to beat the Romani Ranch but through honorable means.

Nothing was stronger than their sibling bond.

But that changed the moment they found that mask buried in their Ranch.

It began to change them, the more they wore it and discovered what it could do.

At first Ingo was all for it, tired of their ranch failing but then he noticed how they were changing. How he was changing.

So he left and once he was away from the Mask, he began to have a clear head right before he met the Zoras who would become the band that he managed, allowing for him to live a good life.

Though he never forgot about home, always sending letter after letter to try and get them to get rid of the mask, to leave the Ranch and join the business he helped create.

Harvey called him a traitor and told him never to come back, but Lionel kept in touch and he knew he was getting through to him.

But now it was too late.

All thanks to that swordsman.

“I should hate you.” Ingo said thinking of what he was told, though he wasn’t told the name, he wasn’t blind to the fact that there was a new face in town belonging to the blonde. “But it’s not your fault.”

It was the fault of the mask.

And now his brothers were dead, he was the only member of his family still alive.

More than that the band that he managed was practically shattered.

Their Guitarist was missing, their Singer lost her voice after her children were kidnapped. The Festival was cancelled.

And now the world was ending.

It was funny in a way, Ingo supposed.

In this way he was like his brothers, a failure.

That was what the Gorman name was reduced to.

Finishing his last drink, Ingo stood up and looked at the moon. “I’ll see you both soon.” He promised before stepping off the ledge, sealing his fate in his own way instead of waiting for the moon to fall.

* * *

Jaune waited until Romani was asleep before leaving the house, seeing the moon inching closer and closer towards Clock Tower.

“It’s going to be alright.” Tatl told him.

“I know.” Jaune said with a nod. “And you’re wrong.”

That confused Tatl.

“When you said I couldn’t save everyone.” Jaune said, further confusing her. “Yes I can’t undo everything, but when we stop Skull Kid they’ll have a chance to heal, to wake up tomorrow and enjoy the days to come, in a way that’s saving them.”

Hearing that, Tatl nodded in agreement, now getting what he was saying.

So with a heavy heart he began to play the Song of Time after walking over to pat Epona on the flank, saying Good-Bye.

Inside the ranch, Cremia hugged the sleeping Romani as she heard the music, looking out the window to see both Jaune playing it on his Ocarina and the Moon getting closer.

It was hard to believe that any of them would wake up, but she closed her eyes and hugged her Sister.

“Hope is worth keeping around.” Cremia whispered, remembering what Jaune said and despite her head telling her not to, she couldn’t help but feel it. “Jaune, thank you for everything.”

Those were the last words she said as the cycle restarted.

~ ** _Dawn of the First Day~_ **

** _-Seventy-Two Hours Remain-_ **

The moment Jaune walked out of the Clock Tower, he nearly collapsed from the sadness he felt.

“Jaune?” Tatl asked in concern but Jaune ignored it and walked out, heading for Termina Fields, past the Guard who went to stop him before realizing he had a weapon and letting him through.

Jaune kept going until he reached the hollowed out trunk where he let out a choked sob.

“I-I knew it was going to hurt, ending that cycle.” Jaune whispered with Tatl now flying on his shoulder. “But I didn’t expect for it to hurt this much.”

“You’ve never bonded with anyone like those two before.” Tatl said softly, knowing what he meant.

“I was an idiot.”

He shouldn’t have bonded with them, he knew he would have to restart it.

Yet he couldn’t help it, he felt like he was normal again when he was with them, like he was a part or a family again.

A feeling he hasn’t felt in a year.

Slowly he took out his Ocarina and stared at it before deciding to play the new song.

Epona’s Song, he figured it would help him feel better with how the song sounded-.

A familiar neigh made him stop as Tatl froze alongside him before they heard hoofsteps, both of them turning to see Epona walking up to them.

“I-It can’t be.” Tatl spluttered out, trying to make sense of this while Jaune blinked, bewildered by what he was seeing.

There’s no possible way that Epona should be here, she was supposed to be at Romani Ranch, there was no chance for her to be here.

“Epona?” Jaune asked, reaching out, not touching her as if afraid that she would disappear on contact, but the Mare pushed her head into Jaune’s hand proving that she was actually here. “But how?”

None of this made sense.

Unless-.

Jaune looked at the Ocarina, wondering if it had something to do with this but he smiled and rubbed Epona’s head as the mare gave a small huff of enjoyment.

“Have to say this will make getting around much easier,” Tatl remarked, getting over the shock. “I think Romani was onto something about you being a Knight.”

“Oh not you too.” Jaune gave Tatl a look before turning back to Epona and slowly mounting the saddle.

Once he was on, Epona took off, nearly throwing Jaune off as he grasped the reins, showing that he still needed to get used to horse riding, but he smiled and gave a yell of enjoyment while Tatl was barely hanging onto his shoulder from the sudden take off.

“Where are we going?!” Tatl demanded, trying not to let go.

“Right now, just practice, but I’m thinking of the Canyon.” Jaune said looking towards it. “We need to find the next Giant soon.”

** _To Be Continued…_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Damn, I have to admit I cried a bit typing this. I’ve never typed anything so depressing with both Ingo’s Suicide-nothing good happened to any of the Gormans in this Cycle, no doubt if Jaune knew about that it would break him, and then the good-bye to Cremia and Romani who I’ve enjoyed typing immensely.
> 
> Especially when you reach the scene in the game where you find out that Cremia got Romani drunk so she wouldn’t feel the pain? Oof that was heartbreaking.
> 
> But we also have Tatl finally revealing what she looked like beneath the glow and Jaune is finally done doubting himself. Hopefully I didn’t go too far with her dropping the ‘F’ bomb. I think the situation demanded it and it’s the only time I plan to use it.
> 
> It just took awhile and it’s easy to see why he was scared of using the Song of Time. The more you do it the less you feel for the people around you. If everything is reset then they become less real which makes it easy to do what you want with no consequences.
> 
> That type of power is terrifying if you think about it like that, especially with the temptations it can bring.
> 
> Oh and yes Jaune and Cremia did the deed, no I didn’t type it because this fanfiction isn’t a damn porno, I didn’t want to make anyone uncomfortable by typing that. Well that and I have never typed anything like that before so I wouldn’t know how to, hell I had to research how to type drunk people because I’ve never been drunk before, which I think is an achievement considering I’m 25. But they were both pretty drunk when they did that so it wasn’t really one of love, though the seeds were there after everything that happened, the time rewinds would prevent them from sprouting which is very messed up if you really think about what could’ve been if Jaune didn’t have to reset the cycles.
> 
> Finally we have Jaune heading to the Canyon for the last side quest before the Great Bay Temple, I think everyone here knows what it’ll be.
> 
> Anyways I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter.


	15. The Perils of Ikana Graveyard

** _~Dawn of the First Day~_ **

** _-Seventy-Two Hours Remain-_ **

“I see, so that’s why you stay in the air,” Jaune said, looking over some of the maps that he was buying while Tingle stood nearby, the two of them standing in the middle of North Clock Town right by the Fairy Fountain. “These maps are impressive.”

They truly are, the fact that this man hand drawn these maps really said something and it had everything that he found, even stuff he missed such as a Fishing Hole in the Swamp.

They really would’ve helped out a lot in the beginning.

Tatl was currently hiding inside of his hoodie, her light off to keep the fairy obsessed man from seeing her, not wanting to deal with this weirdness and he can understand in a way considering he had trouble taking the man seriously given what he was wearing.

“Why thank you, it does me good to see someone appreciate my works,” Tingle said, dancing in place, with a grin on his face. “I travel far and wide to make these maps in hopes of finding a fairy companion, but none want to approach a fairy child like me.”

“For good reason.” Tatl muttered in Jaune’s hoodie, disbelief evident in her tone.

“Hm?” Tingle looked up while Jaune forced a confused look on his face, mentally cursing how loud that was.

“Something wrong?”

“No, just thought I heard something.” Tingle shook his head. “Oh well, I’m only thirty-five, a fairy will approach me eventually.”

Jaune gave a nod to avoid being rude because he did appreciate these maps and the guy was selling them for a low price, but he was a little disturbed.

“Well I should be going,” Tingle then did some sort of strange motion as he chanted. “Tingle-Tingle! Kooloo-Limpah!”

Somehow sparkles erupted from his hand while Jaune blinked, unsure of what that was.

“These are the magic words that Tingle has created himself,” Tingle explained, seeing the befuddled look on Jaune. “Don’t steal them.”

“I see.” Jaune began to walk away, waving good-bye to the man.

The moment they were out of sight, Tatl flew out, not lighting up in the process. “There is something seriously wrong with that man!” She exclaimed, shivering from how disturbing that was. “How can anyone his age be like that?!”

“I honestly don’t know.” Jaune said, shaking his head in an unsure motion.

There must be a reason this Tingle is like that but he wasn’t sure what it was.

“Still, if he can get over the fairy obsession he could make a killing in the cartography department.” Jaune commented, checking the maps as they looked like they were done by a true artist. “You can’t tell me these aren’t good.”

Tatl begrudgingly gave him that one before flying over to look over the map, a curious look on her face.

It was still a surprise that she let herself be seen whenever Jaune was by himself, but it made the blond swordsman happy because it showed that Tatl trusted him with seeing what she really looked like.

“So we can either continue with your plan to go towards the Ikana Canyon or we can go to the Ocean,” Tatl mused in thought. “There will be a temple in both areas but we know that the Ocean temperature is rising.”

“While we have no idea what’s waiting in the Canyon.” Jaune finished, Tatl giving a nod of agreement.

Going by that logic, it would make more sense to head towards the Ocean, but Jaune wasn’t so sure.

After a bit he came to a decision.

“We’ve waited long enough to free the third giant and we have no way to cross the ocean, our best bet is to find the one in the Canyon before we tackle that problem.” Jaune decided hoping that once they do get to the Ocean they would be able to find a way across.

“Do you have your bottles filled?” Tatl asked while Jaune folded up his new map and placed it in his bag.

“I have both filled.” Jaune answered with a grin, taking stock once more.

Ever since that close call a few cycles ago, he always made sure to keep his bottles filled with a red potion.

After all the further into the journey they’ve gotten the more dangerous the road seemed.

And he knew that it would only get more dangerous from here on out.

On the bright side, his swordsmanship and archery skills have only improved throughout his time training and he was getting more in tune with riding Epona, enough to where he can shoot an arrow while moving, though he could do better on that front.

His control with Magic was also improving. Now he can focus a little into his sword to enhance his strikes and even focus enough to strengthen his body to take a serious blow if he’s unable to dodge, though he can’t keep it up for too long considering no matter how much control he’s gotten over it, he still needed to work on not overdoing.

So while it was nice in case he needed it, it was still dangerous to use it in a fight.

Making it outside of Clock Town, Jaune raised a hand to block the sun out of his eyes, Tatl lighting up in the process.

Given he just exited from the North Gate, he could see Snowhead Mountain clearly with the Ocean to his left while the Canyon was to the right.

So he pulled out his Ocarina and played Epona’s Song, summoning the mare.

He had a theory that somehow the Ocarina was pulling Epona out of the cycle that he met her, summoning her into this one. It was a flimsy theory at best with little to no evidence to support it, but given everything this Ocarina has done ever since he gained the ability to use magic, he was willing to believe that despite the lack of evidence.

“Hey girl.” Jaune greeted, reaching into his bag to pull out a carrot that he bought from the local store at the beginning of the cycle, the mare easily eating it with vigor. “Are you ready for the journey?”

Epona snorted to show her answer, her tail swishing in response as she leaned her head, waiting for Jaune to get on.

* * *

Jaune’s first impression of the Canyon was on how empty it seemed.

There wasn’t anything alive, no birds, no plants, no people.

It was just desolate. Devoid of any life whatsoever.

Epona seemed to be on edge though given the small whines she gave with each step, now walking while Jaune looked around cautiously.

He did rub the back of her neck in an effort to calm the mare down though.

“According to the map it’ll take a few hours before we reach the heart of the Canyon.” Jaune mused, remembering how he saw the graveyard on the map along with the ruins of the Ikana Kingdom being shown. “Hopefully we’ll find an owl statue so we can teleport here in case we need to restart the cycle.”

Tatl said nothing, just keeping very close to Jaune.

That concerned him.

“Tatl?”

“Jaune, something feels wrong.” Tatl finally said after another few seconds of silence. “The air, it’s-I don’t know how to explain it.”

She could feel the evil in the air, just like how she sensed the Black Boes back in Woodfall Temple, however that paled in comparison to this one.

It was almost suffocating to the Fairy.

Jaune gave a nod, taking her words with caution.

Eventually however they came across a huge metal fence that showed for this to be the border to the Canyon.

Taking a deep breath, Jaune leaned forward as Epona began to gallop towards it before jumping over the fence with ease.

The moment they crossed over however, the air shifted to where Jaune could barely breathe, just like how Tatl was a few minutes ago.

Whatever it was, it was worse once you passed the border.

Taking the moment to glance at Tatl, Jaune frowned in concern when he saw her shaking, breathing heavily.

“Yee-Hee-Hee,” The sudden voice made Jaune tense up, nearly unsheathing his sword as he looked around warily. “What are you doing in a place like this?”

Seeing nothing around him, Jaune was startled when Tatl made a ringing noise. “Up there!”

Quickly glancing up, Jaune blinked at seeing a cloaked figure sitting up on a cliff that was out of reach from him, a single red eye could be seen from inside of the cloak.

“Who are you?” Jaune asked, watching the red eye study him curiously before the figure gave another creepy chuckle.

It didn’t help that something about this woman was familiar and that really made him nervous.

“Who I am doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things, you on the other hand are very interesting.” The figure tilted her head in an awkward position that shouldn’t even be possible without breaking her own neck. “Now why are you here? Beyond this cliff is Ikana Hill and that place is filled with nothing more than spirits with lingering regrets.”

Jaune kept quiet, unsure if this figure could be trusted or not.

“Even now the spirits wander in search of one who could save them,” The figure continued, before waving Jaune off. “You are not strong enough to pass.”

“Excuse me?” Jaune asked, baffled by what this lady was saying. “But I need to pass-.”

“If you pass as you are now, you will die,” The figure interrupted him, her single eye now glowing. “You may obtain the strength to survive but that’s for another _ time _.”

The way she stressed the word time, put Jaune on edge before Tatl spoke. “If we don’t go through, everyone will die.”

“Quite the conundrum isn’t it?” The figure asked with a mocking laugh. “You have the mask to save these souls, but you’re not ready to use it.”

“The mask?” Jaune asked as the figure stared at him.

It then clicked as he realized why this lady looked familiar.

Her face beneath the hood matched the mask he took from the Gorman Brothers.

“No, I am not using that mask!” Jaune snarled, his mind flashing back to what happened in that cycle.

“And that is why you’ll die if you go through as you are now, you are not ready for this area.” The figure stated in a simple tone. “If you want somewhere to start however head to the nearby Graveyard, there you will begin to gain the power to survive the Canyon.”

That was all the figure would reveal before she faded from existence, as if she wasn’t there to begin with.

Immediately the air seemed to have cleared, allowing both Jaune and Tatl to breathe easily. “Well that wasn’t creepy at all.” Tatl muttered, Jaune giving a nod of agreement.

“Not strong enough to survive, who does she think she is?” Jaune was annoyed at how this being just brushed him off like he was nothing.

And to even suggest that he used that mask, he’d rather die then use it after seeing the pain it caused.

“Still she did give a hint that something was at the Graveyard, so perhaps we should check it out?” Tatl began to suggest only to pause as she saw something strange. “Hm?”

“What is it?” Jaune asked, seeing her fly towards a circle of rocks.

“Jaune, get out your Lens of Truth, I think something is here.” Tatl said and that was when Jaune saw a shadow in the circle.

Now feeling curious, Jaune pulled it out to see what looked to be a normal Clock Town soldier, wearing a stone gray mask, leaning against the wall as if in pain.

Eyes widening in concern, Jaune quickly rushed over to him, getting off of Epona in the process. “Hey, are you okay?!” He asked, placing a hand on the man’s shoulder, making him tense up.

“Y-You can see me?” The man asked in shock, sounding choked up. “Y-You’re the first one to see me.”

Jaune wasn’t sure what to make of that, why was this man invisible?

He wasn’t dead because Jaune could clearly touch his shoulder. He had a shadow, so that helped.

Wait, was it the mask he was wearing? Did it have anything to do with the invisibility? If so, then why didn’t he just take it off?

“I’ve been here for days, waving my arms around and asking for help, but everyone ignores me and passes me by.” The Guard explained with Jaune now certain it had something to do with the mask. “I can barely feel my legs, ever since that Imp forced this mask on my face, people have ignored me.”

Oh that’s why he didn’t take it off.

Frowning in thought, Jaune came up with an idea. “Hang on, here.” He said, pulling out one of his red potions, offering it to the surprised Guard. “Drink this, it’ll heal up your legs, once that’s done I might have an idea on how to get that mask off you.”

A bit doubtful, the Guard listened as he somehow managed to down the potion through the mask.

Once he shakily stood up, his legs feeling like jello from atrophy due to not using them the last few days, Jaune pulled out his Ocarina and played the Song of Healing.

Just like with the man cursed to be a Skulltula, it worked like a charm and the mask easily came off, allowing for the Guard to be visible to the naked eye.

That was proven as Jaune turned the Lens of Truth off and could still see the man.

“I-I’m back?” The Guard sounded shocked, touching his face to feel that the mask was gone. “I’m back!”

He gave a laugh full of relief before saluting Jaune out of respect, something that made him a little uneasy.

“Thank you, if it wasn’t for you I would’ve perished out here alone and invisible to the world.” The Guard was terrified that would’ve been his fate. “If you ever need anything just ask.”

“Just make it home safe and we’ll call it even.” Jaune told the man who gave a nod before realizing he needed to head back to Clock Town given how he’s been missing for days.

“Oh no, Captain Eagus is really going to let me have it.”

Jaune watched the man run off before bending down to grab the stone-like mask in thought.

He then placed it on, nothing seemed different-.

“Jaune?!” Tatl looked around frantically. “W-Where are you?!”

“Tatl? I’m right here.” Jaune’s voice made Tatl jump and that was before he poked her, making her cry out. “What?”

“Jaune, I can’t see you.”

Can’t-just like with that soldier.

This mask provided invisibility?!

Giving a wide grin, Jaune took the Stone Mask off, just imagining the usefulness of this one.

Especially if he needed to break away from a fight.

* * *

Surprisingly the graveyard wasn’t all that foreboding that Jaune thought it would be, that’s not to say that it didn’t make him uneasy but the air wasn’t suffocating him, so that was a plus.

There were quite a few graves, just about all of them were weathered down to the point where none of the names could be read.

Frowning, Jaune pulled the Lens back out to see if there was anything invisible, but to his surprise there was nothing.

The whole place was empty.

Not even the wind was blowing, leaving the place silent with the exception of the footsteps coming from Jaune as Epona flat out refused to enter this place, so he let her take off before he entered. “This doesn’t feel right.” Jaune muttered, not liking the fact that they were in a Graveyard trying to find something to help him ‘survive’ the Canyon as that robed figure put it.

There was nothing here unless he had to commit graverobbing and Jaune was pretty sure he didn’t want to do that.

Given everything he’s seen so far, he’d rather avoid disrespecting graves.

… But what if that was his only chance to find a way into the Canyon?

“This place gives me the creeps.” Tatl muttered, flying ahead to look around. “Is it bad that I wished there was a monster or two around?”

“Not really, at least that way it wouldn’t feel so creepy.” Jaune answered, happy to have some noise from their conversation. “I mean we’ve faced giant spiders, fire breathing dinosaurs and feral wolves, so not much could really terrify us.”

“Is that so?” A voice whispered behind them, making Tatl ring in surprise while Jaune quickly unsheathed his sword and swung only to hear a shout. “Whoa, whoa, I’m not a monster.”

Jaune eyes the new arrival warily, not hearing the guy sneak up on them as he was much older than Jaune was, looking to be in his late seventies with very pale skin, and a misshapen face that gave off a more frightening appearance despite the fear that was now showing, the man nearly falling over, using his shovel to keep himself standing despite his hunchback as he wore a brown tunic.

After a few more seconds, Jaune deemed the man no threat and sheathed his sword, leaving for him to sigh in relief.

“Suppose that’s what I get for sneaking up on a youngster like you.” The man muttered to himself before he coughed rather violently.

“What are you doing here?” Jaune asked with caution, though there was some concern in his tone.

The man’s health was obviously declining from how bad the cough sounded.

“I should be asking you that,” The man managed to get out, giving Jaune a curious look. “The name is Dampe, I’m the Grave Keeper of this Graveyard.”

Dampe coughed again before pulling his shovel out of the ground to carry over his shoulder, looking up at Jaune with a slightly suspicious face.

“As such, I tend to be rather cautious of people entering here.”

“I’m not here to grave rob.” Jaune promised, having no intentions to do that. “I came here to learn a bit about the Canyon.”

Dampe gave him a piercing look before giving a nod as he began to shuffle off. “Nothing to learn around this cursed land, after the fall of the Royal Family there hasn’t been much luck for anyone to survive there, I’d wager that scientist who came by here a few days ago is already dead.”

Despite being curious about this scientist, Jaune pushed on. “Royal Family?”

“All of the graves here belong to the family members of the former King of Ikana Castle, a fallen structure that lies just beyond the mountains.” Dampe explained to the curious teenager. “If you wish to go there however you shall find no help from me, anyone who attempts to go near the Castle perishes.”

And knowing their luck, Jaune would’ve bet a thousand Rupees that they needed to find the castle.

As if reading his mind, Tatl spoke. “Are you sure there’s nothing you can tell us?”

“Nothing that I haven’t told anyone else, any further past this land is one of no return.” Dampe warned him. “It’s barely liveable here when night time falls, that’s when the Ghosts come out.”

Jaune winced at hearing the word Ghosts, the memory of Darmani coming to mind.

“If you want to head out there I won’t stop you, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.” Dampe slowly walked off, leaving for Jaune and Tatl to slowly digest what they just learned.

“Well he was helpful.” Tatl muttered sarcastically.

“Actually he was, now we know that traveling around here at night is bad, there was a scientist a few days ago and the castle is beyond the mountain.” Jaune listed off the things they just learned. “Adding in with this grave belonging to the Royal Family we learned a lot.”

“... I hate it when you do that.” Tatl finally said after a few seconds of silence, referring to how he tends to see the small details in talking with people that others like her would overlook.

Jaune chuckled, knowing that she didn’t mean that.

“Come on, we still have a bit more of the Graveyard to explore.” Jaune said, glancing up at the sky to see that it was two in the afternoon. “And plenty of time before night falls.”

They already got a new mask out of this incursion into the Canyon and information that they didn’t have before.

Whether or not they find the temple in this cycle, they were better off than before.

Tatl flew after Jaune as he continued, finding more and more graves, some of them weathered down while there were some that weren’t.

‘** _A vessel that holds wandering spirits rests here._ **’

‘** _The soul of a brave soldier from Ikana rests here._ **’

‘** _The melody that summons the tears of angels rests here._ **’

Out of all of them, that last one caught Jaune’s attention.

A melody that summons tears of angels? Given how just about every song Jaune has learned had a hidden power, he wondered if that was something he needed for this journey.

And if it was that meant he had to go graverobbing.

Does he really want to do this?

“What’s wrong?” Tatl asked, seeing how he seemingly tensed up for no reason.

It was getting easier and easier to read him as their journey continued.

“I-,” Jaune sighed in frustration. “I’m wondering how much worse my morals will get before this whole thing ends.”

He already took a life, even if Tatl told him he was in the right in that situation and he knew he was, it was still a bitter pill to swallow. Then he has to knowingly manipulate some people in these cycles to get information on how to proceed.

Now here he was contemplating graverobbing.

Before Termina he would’ve been horrifying to even think about it.

That just showed how loose his morality has become.

Tatl seemed to have caught on to which moral that Jaune was thinking on, given how silent she got.

Shaking his head, Jaune left the grave alone, not wanting to think about it anymore before they came to the end of the graveyard, seeing the house that Dampe had to have been staying in, but that wasn’t what caught his attention.

A few things caught his attention.

One was the burning circle of fire that was on the roof of the house with Jaune seeing the faint traces of a chest in there much to his confusion. But there was also a giant skeleton curled up beneath the bridge that connected to the house.

“By the Giants.” Jaune whispered, walking up to the skeleton, its skull easily dwarfing him showing that whatever this was, it was no doubt bigger than Odolwa.

Placing a hand on the skull, Jaune was surprised by how sturdy it was.

With all the dust and the cobwebs that could be seen, you would think that time would’ve eroded the skeleton to crumble away into dust. Yet it was very well preserved.

Perhaps magic had a key in it?

“Ye who _ AWAKEN _ me, battle me.” Tatl said, confusing Jaune before he saw her reading a nearby sign. “Then I shall extinguish the furious flame.”

Blinking, Jaune perked up and glanced at the burning circle on the roof, now understanding what was going on.

Just like the skeleton, the fire was well preserved despite how it should’ve gone out, or the chest inside should’ve burned away.

It was magical fire that was linked with how well preserved the skeleton was.

And if the sign was any indication, this was in place as some sort of trial or test much like how some of the rooms inside of the temples were.

Was the power that the hooded figure spoke of inside that chest?

“So if we wake this thing up, I have to battle it and then we get what’s inside of this treasure?” Jaune theorized with Tatl giving a nod, coming to the same conclusion. “Alright, but how do we wake it?”

“Do we have to wait until night?” Tatl asked with Jaune thinking on that.

It would make sense.

Reading the sign, Jaune noticed how much emphasis was put on the word awaken and that stirred a memory of him before it clicked.

“The Sonata of Awakening.” Jaune whispered, remembering the last time he played that song was to reveal Woodfall Temple.

It’s been ages since he thought about that song.

“You ready Tatl?” Jaune asked, pulling his Ocarina out with a look of determination.

Once he played it, if he’s right, they’ll be in for quite a fight.

But he was confident in his ability to survive as opposed to the beginning.

“Let’s do this.” Tatl agreed, watching as Jaune began to play the Sonata of Awakening showing that despite the amount of time that passed, he didn’t forget the notes.

As the melody flowed from the Ocarina, the ground began to shudder, an orange light flickering to life within the Skeleton’s sockets.

Giving a roar, the giant Skeleton immediately shot to its feet, easily destroying the bridge, the force of it sent the pieces hurtling towards the ground, Jaune quickly using his shield to cover himself as the debris slammed into it.

Now that it was standing, Jaune saw that he barely came up to its shin, but he stood his ground, unsheathing his sword in preparation.

It wasn’t the first time he faced something bigger than him and knowing his luck it probably won’t be the last.

Then suddenly it turned around and slowly began to walk away down the path that was behind the house, leaving for Jaune and Tatl to be dumbfounded while the ground shook with each step.

“I-Is that thing seriously just ignoring us?” Tatl asked, unsure how to take this.

Jaune was in the same boat, but he quickly took off after it down the rocky path right as the large skeleton passed by an arch only for flames to appear between the arch, cutting the blond off from his target.

Caught off guard, Jaune barely stopped himself from running into it, only for a bony hand to shoot out of the ground and grab his ankle as two smaller skeletons, Stalchildren if Jaune remembered right from the book he read on the Monsters of Termina, began to crawl out of the ground.

Thinking quickly, Jaune quickly sliced their heads off before they could get out of the ground and it seemed that was all he needed to do as the fire wall disappeared.

But the giant Skeleton had a lead on him as it passed another arch that would no doubt make flames appear.

He had to slow it down somehow.

So Jaune pulled out the Hero’s Bow given how it was his only long range weapon and shot an arrow at the Skeleton and much to his surprise the arrow actually caused it to slow down in surprise that something hit it.

Thinking quickly as he ran towards it, Jaune pulled back another arrow, this time focusing as it caught fire before letting it fly, piercing the knee of the giant Skeleton that turned and glared at him.

Seemed like he pissed it off.

Giving a roar, the Skeleton jumped high in the air right at Jaune who dodge rolled out of the way to avoid being squashed as more Stalchildren rose up to help the giant one.

Throwing up his shield, Jaune blocked a bony claw from one of the Stalchildren only to do a backflip as the giant one tried to hit him by sweeping the ground, taking the other Stalchildren down in the process.

While in the air, Jaune pulled out a bomb and threw it, the explosion slightly singing the bones on the skeleton who tried to swipe at him again, but Jaune was already in the motion to do a side flip the moment he landed, dodging the strike as he let loose another fire arrow, hitting the shoulder of the giant Skeleton.

Giving another roar, the Skeleton stomped a foot on the ground the moment Jaune landed, the shaking actually knocking him off balance before backhanding him with enough force to send him rolling in the dirt.

Rolling with the momentum, Jaune was back to his feet in no time, quickly turning into a Deku Scrub to fire a snot bubble at its feet to make it slip.

As it fell, he quickly turned into a Goron, the heavier form making it easy to keep his balance as the ground shook only to slam his Iron Hammer into one of its hands, shattering two fingers, making the giant Skeleton roar in pain.

Tatl flew around the fight, mostly watching as she looked for a way to help, though she wasn’t sure if she should or not.

Jaune was doing a lot on his own right now, much better than when he fought the monsters hidden in the temples.

Seeing another hand swiping at him, Jaune quickly took the Goron Mask off and replaced it with the Bomb Mask, detonating it right as the hand got close enough, blasting off another finger and singing it before swapping the mask for the Bunny Hood to run around another attempt to squash him, jumping as the foot connected to the ground to avoid getting knocked off balance again.

Seeing as how he was behind the Skeleton, Jaune decided to try out the Stone Mask he just got right as soon as the Skeleton spun around only to tilt its head, making a muted noise of confusion at not seeing him.

That changed into another roar as the Gilded Sword sliced right into its foot, the Skeleton kicking up in hopes of getting Jaune but the blond was on the foot, the sword embedded deep to keep him in place before he used the momentum from the kick, pulling the sword out in the process to send him into the air, slicing the lower jaw of the Skeleton off.

But he was vulnerable in the air, enough time for the Skeleton to slam him away where he hit the ground with enough force to make a crater, barely throwing up his magic in time to survive the fall.

Doing so however used up almost all of his magic, leaving him vulnerable as the Skeleton stomped a foot on him, Jaune barely being able to stop it, his Power Bracelets saving him from being squished while the Skeleton seemed surprised by the strength that Jaune was showing before he pushed the Skeleton back with enough force to send him on his back, giving Jaune a moment to breathe.

Seeing the Skeleton pushing itself up, reattaching its lower jaw in the process, Jaune went on the offensive and drew his sword, not seeing flames surrounding it until he sliced the foot of the Skeleton off.

‘_ Did I-? _’ Jaune was flabbergasted by that before a thought occurred to him.

The Fire Scroll, it didn’t just specify arrows only.

This whole time he could’ve used it to light his sword on fire?!

Filing that in the back of his mind, Jaune was going to push on his advantage only for the Skeleton to do something he didn’t expect.

It spoke.

“Enough.”

The sudden voice started Jaune, enough that he was barely able to stop himself from swinging his sword again, though in the back of his mind he was wondering if this was a trick.

A moment of hesitation could end his life after all, yet the Skeleton didn’t strike while he was caught off guard, it just sat there, giving Jaune a look.

Tatl was more than certain that this was a trick, but she remembered back when they got the Mask of Truth and held her tongue, knowing by now that things were always more than they seemed.

If Jaune wanted to give this thing a chance, she’ll respect that decision. Though personally she wasn’t so sure given how it did just try to kill Jaune.

Nothing was said for a few seconds before the Giant Skeleton stood up, reattaching its foot. “Come.” It said, gesturing for Jaune to follow.

Tilting his head, Jaune did so, sheathing his sword. “So we’re done fighting?” He asked, slowly trailing behind as the skeleton walked slowly and carefully as to avoid shaking the ground even more.

“I have lost, there is no more need to fight anymore.” The Skeleton simply stated. “What is your name young one?”

“Jaune.”

“Well met, I am Skull Keeta, former Captain of the Royal Guards that protected the Ikana Kingdom.” Keeta introduced himself with Jaune a bit surprised by that.

He would’ve figured that this Keeta was the skeleton of a monster or a giant given his size.

Eventually they made it to the top of the hill which was where the bridge used to be, Keeta jumping back down before turning to Jaune as they were now face to face.

“It has been many years since I’ve been shamed by a loss in a battle within the Kingdom,” Keeta continued as Jaune listened, seeing the skeleton looking to be lost in memories. “As a result, my spirit could not rest so I waited for one to come and awaken my soul.”

‘_ Loss within his kingdom? _’ Jaune thought curiously, only for the Skeleton’s jaw to stretch into a smile, showing its massive teeth.

“For one so young, you fight with skill and fortitude,” Keeta complimented as he recounted every part of their small battle. “It was an honor to fight one such as you.”

“The honor is mine.” Jaune returned with a small smile, giving a nod of respect to the skeleton. “You mentioned a battle? Against who?”

The smile dropped as the eyes flickered to show some remnants of rage at the thought of the enemy. “They called themselves the Garo, spies that instigated the war that destroyed the Ikana Kingdom,” He explained, clenching a fist in anger. “They defied Igos Du Ikana who only sought to unify all of Termina in order to prevent more wars.”

‘_ Igos Du Ikana. _’ Jaune silently commited the name to memory, now knowing who the last king of Ikana was.

It was a name that was lost in time, forgotten by many.

“Knowing that his end was near King Igos sent a small group of his subjects away to escape the death of the Kingdom before meeting the Garo Master in one on one combat where they slayed each other.” Keeta sounded sorrowful at the explanation. “As we have failed our duties, the men I have led are unable to rest and haunt the nearby graveyard once light has fallen. I ask you young one, please help me put them to rest.”

“How do you want us to do that?” Tatl asked, having been quiet throughout this whole conversation, leaving for Keeta to smile.

“The chest behind me holds my soul, use it to convey to my men, who followed me even into death itself, that the war has ended.” Keeta requested, his tone pleading with Jaune. “They deserve better than to wander restlessly like this.”

Jaune swallowed, knowing how pointless this was, but he couldn’t refuse.

Not after hearing all of this.

“I will.” Jaune promised, making a mental note to do it again after they defeat Skull Kid.

“I thank you, young one.” Keeta stated before doing something unexpected.

He saluted Jaune, a look of respect forming in his eyes despite the pain and sorrow full of regret that he showed.

“With what little power I have left, I name you the new Captain of the Royal Guard,” Keeta said much to Jaune’s surprise. “Captain, sir! May I take my leave?”

Captain?

Sure this Royal Guard doesn’t exist anymore, but Jaune couldn’t comprehend anyone calling him a captain.

He stared at Skull Keeta who kept still, saluting the whole time before he took a deep breath and returned the salute. “Skull Keeta you have fought long enough,” He said to the giant skeleton. “No one can ask anymore of you, you may take your leave and remain at rest.”

“Thank you, Captain.” Skull Keeta actually sounded choked up before the light in his eyes died down, the bones falling apart and turning to dust as time finally caught up with it, eroding the once solid material.

The flames surrounding the chest died down instantly, but Jaune didn’t pay that any mind, instead just staring at where Keeta once stood, a sorrowful look on his face.

“How much do you want to bet his soul is a mask?” Tatl asked after a few moments of silence.

The question in itself made Jaune give out a snort, not arguing because he was thinking the same thing.

But was it a transformation mask like the Deku and Goron one or was it like the rest of them?

“We need to honor his request.” Jaune said, getting ready to make the jump over the other side of the bridge, placing the Bunny Hood on to help give him more speed for the jump itself.

“Alright, Captain Jaune.” Tatl’s tone held a teasing edge to it with Jaune looked a bit bashful.

“D-Don’t call me that.”

Tatl chuckled at his reaction before watching as Jaune easily made the jump, opening the chest to reveal the Captain’s Hat, which was basically a wooden skeleton wrapped around the fabric that would cover the head.

“So this is his soul,” Tatl mused, flying around it. “How do you think it’ll work?”

The masks were pretty random at times after all.

Jaune went to answer, but another voice spoke up. “How about you get off my roof first.”

They both went quiet as they looked down to see Dampe who was looking up at them with an awed expression, showing he most likely saw the whole thing.

* * *

** _~Night of the First Day~_ **

** _-Sixty Hours Remain-_ **

“My Pa used to tell me stories of the legends of Skull Keeta just like how his Pa told him, I always thought it was a bunch of Wolfos Dung,” Dampe explained as they were in his shack, the elder pouring a cup of hot tea while the sun was beginning to set. “Seeing you wake him up though, now I wish I paid more attention to those legends.”

“Thank you,” Jaune said, gratefully accepting the tea before giving an apologetic smile. “Uh sorry about the damages on your bridge.”

Dampe waved that off surprisingly. “Given what happened, I’m happy it didn’t destroy my house.” He said, given how dangerous that fight was. “How did you wake him up anyways?”

He swore he heard music as he was heading back home, but he wasn’t sure if that really happened or if he imagined it.

Jaune felt his gut twist a bit as he shrugged, not wanting to say anything about the Ocarina. “I guess he sensed a challenge and woke up?”

“Hm,” Dampe gave Jaune a searching look as if he knew that the blond was hiding something but let him have that. “Well after seeing what you can do, I wouldn’t want to cross you.”

He meant it too, he’s never seen anyone turn into a Deku Scrub or a Goron before.

And the way he wielded his weapons, despite his age this boy was very skilled with them.

Add in the bits of magic he saw and Dampe knew that this kid's going places.

But Dampe kept that to himself, watching as the boy slowly drank the tea. “So any ideas on how you’d put those Stalchildren to rest in the Graveyard?”

“Keeta said his soul was inside this mask, so by wearing it I could command them to go to sleep.” Jaune answered as if it was that simple despite the look of disbelief that Dampe was giving him.

“And that’s it?” Dampe asked, expecting more.

“That’s how things usually work for us.” Tatl said in a simple tone, trying not to laugh, knowing how weird it was from an outsider's perspective despite it being normal to them.

At that point, Dampe felt like it would be better to take them at their word.

“Just be careful, I rather not have to bury you the next morning.” Dampe warned with Jaune giving a nod despite how macabre that warning was.

Then again he was getting used to the constant sense of nearly dying to let it bother him.

Dampe coughed again with Jaune quickly reaching over to help, but Dampe waved it off. “Don’t worry about me, I’m just old.” He said not showing any concern over his own health. “These coughing fits are normal for me now.”

Jaune frowned but gave a nod, respecting his wishes.

“... I saw you looking at the three graves earlier today.” Dampe revealed making Jaune tense. “Are you sure you’re not going to look through them?”

“I’m sure.” Jaune said, trying to convince himself. “Graverobbing is something I never want to commit.”

“Except they’re not really graves.” Dampe revealed, confusing Jaune who glanced at Tatl who was tilting to the side to convey confusion. “I didn’t tell the whole truth myself, but my main responsibility besides being the Gravekeeper is to keep the treasures of the Royal Family safe until the one who releases Keeta from his curse appears.”

It got silent as Jaune stared at Dampe, clearly not expecting that. “What?”

“I know, just like with Skull Keeta, I thought it was Wolfos Dung, but after seeing that, I’m starting to wonder if those treasures are real.” Dampe shrugged, at his disbelief. “Considering you were the one to release Keeta, I think the treasure is for you.”

“I-.” Jaune found that really hard to believe.

Everything in Termina has done nothing but throw him through a loop, but he got through it easily.

Now apparently he was meant to take treasure belonging to a now dead Royal Family because it was prophesied that someone would release Keeta?

That was pushing it a bit.

“Wouldn’t you get into trouble?” Tatl asked, in the same state of disbelief.

Dampe just chuckled, giving a smug smile. “I’m the only one crazy enough to live here, so there’s no law against me allowing it.”

Jaune couldn't really argue with that.

* * *

Leaving the safety of the shack after Dampe went to sleep for the night, Jaune pulled out the Captain’s Hat and put it on with it covering his hair and eyes.

He didn’t really feel anything too different, but he knew that he had to try something.

“Well here we go, we’re now adding grave robbing to our growing list of misdemeanors.” Tatl said a bit sarcastically as Jaune chuckled.

She was technically right, they did have a list of crimes they commited that were erased due to the resets.

Trespassing, breaking and entering, he’s pretty sure the silver rupees he finds in Clock Town belongs to someone, so theft was on there, he impersonated a dead person with the Goron Mask and basically stole their weapon, desecrated and robbed the equivalent of two holy temples in their quest. Then there’s the fact that they technically stole Epona from the ranch if you think about it.

And now they were going grave robbing.

For someone trying to save the world, he was certainly committing a lot of crimes.

Jaune was on edge as he now walked through the infested Graveyard, seeing the Stalchildren actually acting as if they were alive. A lot of them were gathered around a small campfire like soldiers relaxing, others were swinging back and forth on three branches, showing a child-like quality. Then you had some of them circling graves.

None of them seem to notice that he wasn’t a Stalchild, not that he was complaining, but Jaune took a deep breath and approached the three circling the grave.

Might as well get it out of the way.

“Huh?” One of the Stalchildren glanced up at Jaune, orange eyes meeting the mask before it tensed and gave a salute that was hastily copied by the others nearby. “C-Captain, e-excuse me sir!”

Jaune had to force himself not to smile, not wanting these Stalchildren to realize he wasn’t Keeta. “At ease.” He said with a tone of forced authority.

“Yes sir, the treasure you entrusted us to guard are still buried beneath the graves.” The Stalchild explained, showing that Dampe was right.

Giving a nod, Jaune hesitated before he gave the order. “Open it.”

“Yes sir, everyone on me!”

Jaune and Tatl watched with morbid fascination as the Stalchildren began to tear into the grave, breaking it down piece by piece until a large hole could be seen beneath it that they leapt into.

“So, we’re jumping down the very long and dark hole, no idea how far the bottom is?” Tatl asked with Jaune giving a nod. “Well at least if you break your legs you have a red potion.”

“Thanks for that image, Tatl.” Jaune dryly remarked before taking a deep breath and making the leap, Tatl flying after him, lighting the hole up in the process.

* * *

“I’m really happy that I’m getting the hang of my magic.” Jaune muttered, using it to strengthen his body right as he hit the floor.

So nothing was broken.

But now he was in a dark cavern, none of the Stalchildren in sight.

“I don’t see any Skulltulas, but I’m sticking close just in case,” Tatl said, her light helping Jaune see what was around him. “This treasure that the Royal Family is guarding better be good.”

“I’ll settle for something to help us beat Skull Kid.” Jaune said, walking through the cavern, slowly making his way over the skinny ledge going across a bottomless chasm. “Geez, what is with these places and not seeing the bottom?”

“Probably a deterrent to keep people from intruding.” Tatl theorized, watching as Jaune slowly made his way over. “Hey if that mask can put Stalchildren to rest, do you think that you can control them?”

If they can then Jaune could command an army of the undead to help them in fights.

Jaune went quiet thinking about that. “Maybe… But I’m not going to do that.”

“Why not?” Tatl asked in confusion.

Certainly that would make things much easier.

“Remember how the Gorman Brothers controlled… Them?” Jaune brought up with Tatl getting the picture.

That type of power might have a price.

And given how bad it turned out for the Gorman Brothers, it was better for Jaune to stay cautious on using it like that.

Too bad though, having an army of skeletons at your command sounded awesome.

Eventually the two made it to a rather ancient doorway only to be surrounded by a colony of black bats commonly known as Keese to the inhabitants of Termina.

Pulling out his sword, Jaune decided to try out his new fire sword technique that he just discovered and was happy at how easily the sword caught fire before spinning around, slicing through the colony, lighting them on fire.

But he was surprised when he swung the sword and an arc of fire erupted from it, slamming into the wall

“You’re certainly getting more versatile in your magic, especially where fire is concerned.” Tatl commented with Jaune grinning.

“I know, I can’t wait to find out what else I can do.”

Especially now that he knows it isn’t limited to arrows.

But it’s probably working for the sword because of how the Gold Dust worked as a conduit for magic-wait then can he do the same with his shield too?!

Wanting to try that out, Jaune pulled his shield out and focused only for the edges to catch fire.

“Right, the edges are sharp, I never used it for combat though.” Jaune muttered to himself as he only used the shield to block attacks.

If he can rework his swordsmanship to add slicing into enemies with the shield as well, he could really cause a lot of damage in a fight.

Sheathing his weapons once more, Jaune pressed the button on the door, watching it shake as it began to open, dust falling in the process before he entered the room.

It was a large room, one that was oddly colored now that Jaune looked around, happy that it had some good lighting.

Pillars were all on the wall, blending in pretty well with the colors green, red and yellow mixing together in a pattern that would’ve once breathed life in the room, a red curtain was at the end while a metal suit of armor laid against the wall.

Jaune eyed the armor with a curious look before walking past it, not seeing the fingers twitch, his focus being on the curtain, knowing that there was something behind it.

There had to be something behind it, otherwise what was the point in this room?

Reaching out to place a hand on the curtain, Jaune stopped as he heard metal clinking behind him before Tatl gave a shout of warning and dove out of the way of a massive war axe that would’ve cleaved him in two, slammed into the spot where he used to be.

Rolling to his feet, Jaune unsheathed his weapon to see the suit of armor now alive as it easily lifted the axe back up and turned towards him.

“What is this thing?!” Jaune asked, keeping his distance as it slowly began to walk towards him, showing that all of the armor made it slow.

“I-I think that’s an Iron Knuckle, very powerful monsters who can cleave people in two, don’t try to block, as unbreakable as your shield is, I’m certain that axe can break your guard.” Tatl advised, only hearing stories of this monster.

Of how they ended the lives of even the most skilled fighters.

Jaune contemplated on if that would happen given his bracelets, but decided against it.

No need to take stupid risks.

Looking at the armor for a weak link, Jaune couldn’t see any in the front, which meant that if there was any weakness it was in the back.

Luckily he had the right techniques for it.

But first he wants to test something.

Covering his sword in flames, Jaune swung an arc of fire at it only to be disappointed as the flames didn’t do anything against the armor.

So much for his new magic sword technique winning him the fight.

Instead however he pulled out a bomb and threw it, but the explosion didn’t even faze the Iron Knuckle who was now close enough to swing, Jaune jumping to the side, rolling behind him before coming up to slash his back.

The quick glance he took showed that the armor was just as good on the back as it was on the front, but it had some weak links there given how green blood began to ooze out of the back from the cut.

Okay so it wasn’t an empty suit of armor, there was something in it.

Jaune leapt back as the Iron Knuckle swung backwards, but his slow speed was a major weakness that Jaune was more than happy to take advantage of.

Especially when he began to use the Bunny Hood to run circles around the Iron Knuckle who swung his axe to the side, cleaving one of the pillars, Jaune rolling to dodge it before doing a backflip over the Iron Knuckle landing behind him to launch a spin attack.

This time, armor came flying off the Iron Knuckle showing that Jaune sliced through some threads keeping them on.

The Iron Knuckle lost its gauntlets, shoulder pads, knee pads and part of its helmet to show a skeleton that was glaring at him in hatred.

So it had more weak spots, but that came at a price given how the Iron Knuckle was now running at Jaune, no longer encumbered by the heavy armor holding it down, becoming more aggressive as a result.

Jumping back to avoid a double swing of the axe, Jaune had to lean his head to the side to avoid getting decapitated, leaving for Tatl to quickly fly into one of the eye sockets of the Iron Knuckle, aggravating it to where it was trying to get her out, leaving it open for Jaune to slice one of the arms up.

With one arm gone, the Iron Knuckle couldn’t hold the massive axe properly, leaving for Jaune to quickly slice his legs off at the knees, making the Iron Knuckle fall before Jaune quickly went for the exposed neck line, decapitating it as Tatl flew out of the eye socket in time for the armor to disappear in flames.

“That was disgusting.” Tatl shivered at what she just did.

“It did give me an opening to end the fight, thank you.” Jaune smiled at her.

Tatl glowed brightly at that. “Well I couldn’t let you do all the fighting Deku Boy.”

“Are you the one who freed my soul?”

That sudden voice made the two tense up, looking around in preparation for another fight.

Instead the curtain began to fall, dust filling the air in the process, showing what looked to be another tomb behind it as another being materialized in front of it.

Jaune took a step back, his mind flashing to them as this being was remarkably similar, only it had some differences as well.

It had a face, darker than any abyss that he’s seen with blue eyes lighting up in the middle of it right above a blonde handlebar mustache, wearing a pretty elegant grey and green suit of clothes, holding a lantern that swayed back and forth with each movement in one hand while in the other held a small baton.

This creature gave a warm look at Jaune, showing that while it did look similar, it wasn’t anything like them, so he relaxed.

“Who are you?” Tatl asked, being the cautious one this time.

The creature gave a smile beneath his mustache. “I’m the spirit of one who has served the Ikana Royal Family, the composer known as Flat.” The spirit introduced himself with a small bow. “The songs connected to the Royal Family were all created by my brother and I. Some of them I sense you know.”

“What do you mean?” Jaune asked as Flat raised a baton into the air and countless sounds of music filled the air with him recognizing some key ones.

Sonata of Awakening, Song of Healing, Song of Soaring and Goron’s Lullaby.

This spirit was one of the ones who helped compose those songs.

“Amazing.” Jaune breathed out in awe, listening as the melodies finally died out with Flat having a fond look that turned sour.

“I thank you for freeing my soul, but I’m afraid I won’t be able to fully rest as long as my brother Sharp remains an issue.”

“Your brother?” Tatl asked while Jaune went silent at hearing the names.

What was it with Termina having names in puns for siblings?

First Tatl and Tael with the obvious joke being Tattletale, now Flat and Sharp for composers?

This was getting a little ridiculous.

“Yes, Sharp sold his soul to the devil and was the one to lock me in here.” Flat explained in a somber tone, still feeling pain at the betrayal of his own kin before flying close to Jaune. “You who do not fear the dead, I implore you to learn the song inscribed on the stone behind me, and should you ever meet my brother tell him that the thousand years of raindrops summoned by my song are my tears. The thunder that strikes the earth is my anger”

“I will.” Jaune promised, knowing that all of the songs he had learned have been very useful so he wasn’t going to say no to another one.

And if he did meet this Sharp, he wants to honor Flat’s request, especially as the spirit smiled in thanks before fading away, moving on.

Slowly approaching the stone, Jaune saw the notes along with the name of the song.

The Song of Storms.

Pulling out his Ocarina, Jaune began to play the song and as he played, he heard the howls of the wind, the drops of rain and the sound of thunder in the background with each note playing, somehow with it now raining inside of the tomb despite being completely underground.

Each sound that followed just added to the melody of the song, the area around them actually feeling lighter as the song cleansed away the dark magic surrounding it.

Pulling the Ocarina away from his lips as he finished the song, Jaune was very surprised to find that rain was still falling inside of the room, Tatl quickly taking cover in his hoodie while he pulled the hood up.

“A song that can make it rain? That’s actually useful in a desert.” Tatl commented with Jaune giving a nod of agreement. “But still, this place has too many souls filled with regret.”

Not to mention how this Flat was betrayed and imprisoned by his own brother. Tatl couldn’t imagine how that felt given the close bond she had with Tael.

“You don’t think that this devil that Flat mentioned was Skull Kid do you?” Jaune asked the question that was on his mind.

Given the range of powers the Imp had, this would’ve been child's play for him.

“No doubt about it.” Tatl said, showing that she had the same thought. “After everything, nothing he does surprises me anymore.”

Jaune gave a nod as they left to get back to the surface.

* * *

** _~Dawn of the Second Day~_ **

** _-Forty-Eight Hours Remain-_ **

It was daytime by the time both Tatl and Jaune reached the surface, the latter having to climb his way up in time to see Dampe making his rounds, the elder giving him a strange look while holding an umbrella due to the rain that always occurred on this day.

“Find what you’re looking for?”

“Somewhat, met a spirit composer and fought a suit of armor protecting him.” Jaune answered with no hesitation with Dampe unsure if he was kidding or not. “But the Stallchildren protecting this one disappeared, I think they moved on.”

“That’s the best news I’ve heard in forever.” Dampe said with a nod.

He did think that something felt different about the Graveyard when he began his trek.

It seemed lighter than normal, though there was still the foreboding feeling that stayed around showing that not everything was fixed.

But it was a start.

“Well whatever you’re doing keep it up and all of the spirits here will finally be at peace.” Dampe began to walk away, a bit more pep in his step compared to the other day.

Jaune smiled in his direction.

Fully pulling himself out of the grave, Jaune stood up and breathed the fresh air, ignoring how his hoodie was getting soaked.

“So I’m guessing we’re going to be waiting until tonight to continue?” Tatl asked, staying in his hood while Jaune smiled.

“Might as well, Dampe mentioned treasures, so there’s more than the song and who knows, they might be something we’ll need.”

And if he can continue to help these spirits move on then that’s more than enough reason for him to do this.

But he was feeling rather tired from the two huge fights he had the other day, so he went to find a place to take a nap.

After all he might have to fight some more if this keeps up, so it was better for him to rest up.

But first he was going to fill his second bottle back up again so he’ll have two red potions instead of one.

** _~Night of the Second Day~_ **

** _-Thirty-Six Hours Remain-_ **

It was basically the same thing as the first night, only the Stalchildren were circling a different tombstone that he had them open and jump down.

This time however, Jaune had to use the Lens of Truth as there were fake walls and invisible paths, even invisible Keese and Skulltulas that tried to kill him, but they were no problem at all.

Maybe it was just him being cocky, but they were also on the lower tier of monsters he’s face so it was no surprise for them to be easy to defeat. Though he was still cautious as even the weakest could kill him should he grow too cocky.

It was when he found another Iron Knuckle though that he grew cautious.

Especially as this one has silver armor, perhaps to show a different rank?

But what caught his attention were the knee high boots that it was wearing that were incredibly different from the last Iron Knuckle.

They were green steel toed boots with metal where the knees were, but what was eye catching were the blue feathers poking out the end of them.

Tilting his head, Jaune unsheathed his sword, thinking that he could use its slow speed to his advantage only for the Iron Knuckle to freaking sprint at him faster than he expected and hit him with the axe.

Thankfully it was the flat side that hit him, but it was enough to shred what was left of his armor and cut into his hoodie, making another gash that would no doubt be another scar.

“What the hell?!” Jaune shouted, barely dodging a second swing, unable to comprehend how fast this Iron Knuckle was.

Reaching into his Gear Bag, he pulled the Bunny Hood out and put it on just in time to run out of the way of another strike.

Now they seemed to be on even speeds, so it was more manageable, but Jaune wasn’t taking any risks here.

“Jaune, I think it’s those boots.” Tatl breathed out, sounding surprised. “They’re filled with magic.”

Magic Boots? Huh maybe he can make use of them?

But he needs to beat this Iron Knuckle first.

The Iron Knuckle ran around Jaune before jumping high into the air to slam the axe right into Jaune who did a side flip to dodge.

While the axe was stuck into the ground Jaune moved and swung his sword right at the back where the same weak spot was, earning a snarl of pain before the Iron Knuckle freed itself.

It then surprised Jaune by jumping back before it ran on the walls, kicking off to tackle Jaune, sending him into the wall before the Iron Knuckle threw the axe, forcing the blond to roll out of the way with the weapon embedding itself into the wall.

Coming up with an idea, Jaune quickly sheathed his weapon as the Iron Knuckle ran at him before he grabbed the axe and pulled it out of the wall.

The Power Bracelets made using it a bit easier as he swung, slicing right through the armor, cutting the Iron Knuckle in two as it fell over, injured but not dead, a muted noise of surprise coming from the Iron Knuckle, showing that it wasn’t expecting for Jaune to be able to do that.

That was rectified when Jaune slammed the axe into the helmet, effectively taking care of it.

Much like the first Iron Knuckle it disappeared into flames, leaving only the boots behind.

The same boots that Jaune picked up and looked at curiously.

“Are you going to put them on?” Tatl asked, thinking that these would be very useful given how the Iron Knuckle made use of them.

“At the moment, no.” Jaune wasn’t sure if that was a good idea until he knew exactly what this was.

For all he knew there could be a curse on this item given he got it from the corpse of a spirit that wasn’t at rest.

But he did place them in his gear bag before downing a red Potion to heal the damage done to him in that fight.

Looking around, there didn’t seem to be anything else in this room, so perhaps the boots were one of the treasures?

Thinking to himself, Jaune decided to test something out as he played the Song of Storms.

Like before rain filled the area as the air began to change to feel less oppressive showing that by doing that he was technically cleansing this area of the dark magic.

** _~Dawn of the Final Day~_ **

** _-Twenty-Four Hours Remain-_ **

“A pair of boots?” Dampe asked curiously, as he watched Jaune looking through some books he had on the Royal Family, most likely trying to find a hint on what they were. “May I see them?”

Given how he wasn’t having much luck, Jaune pulled them out and handed them to Dampe who nearly dropped them in surprise.

“I’ll be, these are-,” Dampe blinked looking over them. “I think these are the Roc Boots.”

“The what now?” Jaune asked, obviously confused before Tatl spoke.

“You know what this is?”

“Know them? My Pa always told me stories of how Skull Keeta wore these in his fights, they were what made him so fearsome to begin with, giving him untouchable speed compared to many.” Dampe explained, handing them back to Jaune. “You take care of this, not many people find magical artifacts like these every day.”

Jaune went quiet thinking on the Lens of Truth, Power Bracelet and Ocarina of Time.

This makes it the fourth magic artifact he had, the masks don’t really count and his bow, sword and shield weren’t really artifacts.

‘_ I wonder if I can combine this with the Bunny Hood? _ ’ Jaune thought before grimacing at the thought of how fast he might go. ‘ _ I’ll have to practice that. _’

Last thing he needs is to puke while combining them in a fight.

But he won’t lie, the thought of increasing his speed even further like that wasn’t tempting.

Especially with how much time they could save, and the fact that they would really add even more diversity to his fighting style.

Taking his shoes off, Jaune slipped his feet into the Roc Boots, not feeling that much different, but they were oddly comfortable actually shrinking down to fit him much to his surprise.

And they gave his legs some much needed protection, that was for sure.

Standing up, Jaune shuffled from one foot to the other, trying to see if they would activate automatically. Does he need to focus magic into them?

“If you’re going to use them, please do it outside.” Dampe brought up, earning a sheepish grin from Jaune.

* * *

Once outside, Jaune found the perfect way to practice them.

The trail he fought Keeta on.

Doing some light stretches as he got ready, Jaune was unprepared when he ran, focusing some magic into the boots.

He took off far faster than he did with the bunny hood, kicking up dust in the process, but turning was something he couldn’t do that well given how when he tried he tripped and rolled with the momentum, crashing into the wall.

It was-... He was going way too fast to process anything.

There was no way he was combining this with the Bunny Hood until he had a handle on the Roc Boots by themselves.

And he felt a little drained, showing that the Roc Boots took a lot of magic to use, so until he can use them without a huge drain, the Bunny Hood was better in the long run.

“Definitely need to practice with those.” Tatl said, catching up after he crashed.

Jaune gave a nod, pushing himself up before he thought of something.

Focusing more magic, Jaune kicked up pretty fast.

He began to unleash a few more kicks at a fast pace.

Kicks that could be blocked easily, but if he learned some techniques focused on kicking and combined it with his swordsmanship.

Another idea came to him as he focused and the boots caught fire making him grin from ear to ear.

Oh yes, he was definitely going to like these boots.

** _~Night of the Final Day~_ **

** _-Twelve Hours Remain-_ **

Jaune ignored how the ground was shaking as he made his way back into the graveyard, a few bumps and bruises from all the crashes he had while practicing with the Roc Boots.

He was getting used to the speed, but stopping was something he had trouble with as well as turning, it was something he needed to work on in a different time.

Instead he was more focused on the last Grave he was about to defile to find the last treasure of the Royal Family.

From there he’ll restart the cycle and think about where to go from there.

So once more he ordered the Stalchildren to open the grave, noting how they were the last ones showing that once he was done here, all of them would’ve moved on.

Jumping down, the last thing he expected was the area to be one huge room, styled the same way as the ones he fought the two Iron Knuckles in, only ten times larger. He could see pits of sand all over the place in random locations.

But the bigger surprise was Dampe walking around.

“Figured you’d find your way here.” Dampe greeted with a wave, walking around.

“How did you get here?!” Tatl asked in shock considering they just opened up the grave.

There was no way for Dampe to beat them here.

Dampe just grinned and pointed towards the nearby hallway. “That way leads back to my room.” He explained, surprising them. “Sorry for not telling you, I wanted to be sure if you were going to help the spirits move on.”

“You knew about the Iron Knuckles.” Jaune realized, as Dampe went quiet showing the he definitely knew more than he let on.

More than that, how much of earlier was a lie?

Just who was he?

“Yes.” Dampe admitted after a moment of silence. “Just like how I know about your quest to awaken the Giants.”

Seeing them tense, Dampe just rolled his eyes at how paranoid they seem to get.

“Kaepora keeps me updated.” He explained to the two. “Told me you two would end up here and to test you.”

Kaepora? It’s been awhile since he even heard that name, Jaune almost forgot that the owl existed.

But if he was the one who let Dampe know, Jaune figured he could relax his guard-what was that noise?

He was hearing a whooshing sound as Dampe just chuckled. “By the way you might want to move, now.”

Looking down as he could see a shadow getting bigger, Jaune listened, barely getting out of the way of a giant hand that shot down from the ceiling, trying to grab him.

It didn’t last long as Jaune swung his sword, unleashing a blast of fire that incinerated the hand, making it scream… Somehow.

How did it scream without a mouth?

“Oh great, now Wallmasters are real? Is every monster from myths real?!” Tatl asked in annoyance.

“You’d be surprised by what’s real these days.” Dampe spoke, sounding very different. “Now come on, we best get this one finished before the moon falls.”

“So how do you know Kaepora?” Jaune asked, following Dampe as he shuffled through the dark, heading for one of the pits of sand.

“That owl always visited over the years, he kept me updated on stuff that happened in Termina.” Dampe answered, a fond tone showing.

As he finished talking, Dampe dug into one of the pits of sand, a blue flame appearing, Jaune staring at it in confusion.

“Just a few more to dig into and we’ll undo the seal, it’s up to you to defeat the monster.” Dampe explained, Jaune frowning at the warning. “Once you do then you can finish cleansing the area.”

“Any idea what the monster is?”

“A monster that needs to be put down for good.” Dampe’s answer was a simple one, some anger showing in his tone.

Jaune gave a nod, a bit put off by how Dampe seemed to be avoiding the question and from a quick glance at Tatl, he could see that she noticed.

But they were already in this deep, might as well finish what they started.

Nothing more was said as Dampe dug from pit to pit, releasing a blue flame from each of them, though at one point they did find an empty bottle which Jaune added to his growing collection given how that meant he could have three Red Potions instead of two in future cycles.

Always a good thing.

It was when they reached the last pit that Dampe hesitated, his shovel in the sand. “Are you ready?” He asked, glancing over his shoulder at Jaune. “This will be a tough one.”

“You said it yourself, it needs to be done.” Jaune answered with Dampe giving a humorless laugh.

“So I did… Thank you for doing what you’ve done and please put my soul to rest.”

“Wait what?” Jaune asked at hearing that last part, but Dampe quickly dug, releasing the last flame, breaking the seal.

Immediately all of the flames began to surge towards Dampe as he cried out in pain, circling him, the heat of the energy forcing Jaune back as he watched the skin rip off of Dampe who dropped his shovel.

It was horrifying to see the skin rip off, showing Dampe becoming a skeleton, still screaming in agony, the skeleton soon fading away to dust.

Jaune stared in shock, not expecting to see the old man just die like that before he saw the flames go into the air, swirling around each other as a form began to take shape.

Seeing that, Jaune unsheathed his sword as it looked like a giant spirit not too different from Flat, only this one was wearing a tattered white robe and a lantern filled with blue fire.

Giving a cackle, the spirit spun around, launching blue flames at Jaune who quickly rolled out of the way before it phased through the floor.

“Oh come on that’s cheap.” Jaune muttered right as the spirit shot out beneath him, launching flames that he was barely able to block.

Great, so this thing can just disappear into the ground and come out anywhere.

Taking a swing, Jaune cursed as the spirit easily flew out of range of his sword before blue flames began to surround Jaune.

Focusing magic into his boots, Jaune kicked off the ground, launching himself into the air as the flames collided with each other, incinerating the spot where he used to be before he pulled out the Hero’s Bow and shot at the spirit, hitting it.

Giving a hiss, the spirit disappeared as Jaune landed a bit away from the flames.

‘_ Okay, just got to keep calm… Wait, if it can disappear why can’t I? _’

Pulling out the stone mask, Jaune put it on and waited before seeing the spirit appear, looking rather puzzled.

That changed to outrage when Jaune shot it again and just like that this became a deadly game of hide and seek.

A game that Jaune had to play carefully as just because he can’t be seen, that doesn’t mean he couldn’t be heard or touched as proven when the spirit managed to find him due to his breathing. Plus his shadow could be seen by someone who was observant.

His movement in trying to get out of the way didn’t help either, but he blocked even more flames, seeing that the spirit was getting more annoyed by the fact that Jaune was still alive.

Glancing up, he could see that Tatl let her light die to avoid the spirit seeing her and was looking for a way to intervene before she apparently found it given how she just flew directly at the spirit, grabbing the lantern out of its hand.

The spirit froze in shock before focusing on Tatl, trying to burn her alive, showing that the lantern was rather important to it.

“Tatl, toss!” Jaune ordered, readying another arrow, pulling back as the fairy listened, the spirit now going for the lantern.

Right before it could grab it however, Jaune let the arrow fly, shattering the item.

Time seemed to stop for the spirit before it gave one last shriek, bursting into flames as it faded from existence.

Jaune breathed out a sigh of relief at how their guess on the lantern actually worked because this was a troublesome fight in itself.

“Nice job.” Jaune complimented given how Tatl was the one to bring his attention to the lantern.

Tatl was certainly finding unique ways to help out in the fights as of late, though it was only when she was certain that Jaune needed it.

Which wasn’t as often as it used to be.

“Same to you, still this cycle sure does have a lot of tough fights.” Tatl commented given how this was their fourth fight that kept them on their toes in this cycle alone.

Jaune gave a nod of agreement before they saw another form take shape, this one being Dampe who had a halo on his head now as he floated in place.

“Well I’ll be, I knew you could do it.” Dampe laughed as he watched the whole fight. “Nice shot there.”

“Dampe, what are you?” Jaune asked with a frown, knowing now that the Grave Keeper has certainly kept a lot from them before now.

“I guess you’ve earned the explanation, I’m more than a Grave Keeper, I’m certain you’ve already figured that out yourself,” Dampe revealed as Jaune crossed his arms. “I’ve been around since the days of the Ikana Kingdom, as a child I’ve seen its fall with the war against the Garo, only a select few of us survived, some of us heading out to make a new home while I stayed here with my Pa, Keeta and a few others.”

“That lines up with the history of Clock Town.” Tatl voiced confirming half of that. “It started out as a new home for the survivors of the Kingdom.”

“But that happened centuries ago.” Jaune said, looking from Tatl to Dampe in confusion. “There’s no way you could be alive for so long.”

“Under normal circumstances you would be right, but the fall of the Kingdom wasn’t the final battle with the Garo, they had a magic user named Carock that cursed this Graveyard, combined with their grief at how they failed their Kingdom the knights were unable to resist becoming what you saw.” Dampe explained, a sad look on his face. “In the end there was only my pa, Flat, Sharp and I left, but Flat and Sharp were rather crafty, turns out they knew a bit of magic themselves and they managed to seal Carock away using this tomb to do so.”

“That meant that spirit was-.” Jaune left it off there, not sure if he wanted to confirm it or not.

“Carock.” Dampe explained in a solemn tone. “But they needed a young life to be bound to the soul in order to keep it trapped. As I was the only young one there I was the best choice.”

The implications weren’t lost on the two. “You were forced to be trapped here?” Tatl asked, shocked at how far they went.

To force a child to be bound to a curse, one that would never let him be at rest, to never leave.

That was a fate worse then death.

“It was the only option, otherwise the survivors out where Clock Town now stands wouldn’t have lived.” Dampe showed no regret for the life that was forced upon him. “I hated it at first, but as time went on I realized how important it was and how it wasn’t easy for anyone at the time.”

“I’m sorry.” Jaune whispered, not sure what else could be said about that.

Dampe just laughed. “Don’t be, you just freed me, I can finally be at peace and the spirits in this graveyard have finally moved on,” He gave Jaune a genuine smile. “Thank you.”

Jaune however didn’t return the smile, knowing it would be undone.

When he goes back, this man will be suffering again from the curse being renewed. And he’ll continue to be living in that curse over and over again.

“Now, I think it’s time for you to receive the last of the treasures guarded by the Royal Family… At least the last one we managed to save from the loss of the Castle.” Dampe pointed towards a nearby wall. “There’s a button on that wall that will open up to reveal a chest. Take what’s inside, you’ve earned it… Captain.”

“I’m not a captain.” Jaune protested, but Dampe shook his head.

“Keeta himself named you the Captain of the Royal Knights, probably a useless title these days but there’s still hope for the Kingdom to thrive as there is a descendant of Igos Du Ikana living in Clock Town to this day.”

That caught both Jaune and Tatl off guard. “There’s a survivor of the Royal Family?!” Tatl asked in shock.

All the history books said that the Royal Lineage died with the last King, but to hear that there’s a survivor, that meant there was a chance for the Kingdom to make a comeback someday.

The ground began to shake, showing once more that they were running out of time.

“That’s everything I can share as of now, please put my soul to rest and take the treasure.” Dampe pleaded, wanting to be freed.

Jaune had so many questions.

Who was this descendant? Why did the war between Ikana and the Garo happen?

But he didn’t argue, knowing that he shouldn’t waste any more time.

So Jaune pulled out the Ocarina and played the Song of Storms, having it rain inside this cavern as the last traces of the curse were being washed away.

Dampe smiled as despite being incorporeal he could feel the raindrops, his form slowly fading before there was nothing left.

Seeing that, Jaune stopped and stood there with a sad look before turning to head towards the wall that Dampe pointed out, easily finding the button on it to open it up, revealing the chest.

Opening it, he found what looked to be a staff of some kind.

Not a staff that one would use in martial arts, but one that had a rather odd design.

It was a staff made of what looked to be pure gold, a blue cover on the hilt itself, the top of it, ending with two prongs sticking out, like a beetle jaw while a blue diamond was between the prongs.

Raising a brow, Jaune took the staff, being taken aback for a moment as he could feel the magic flowing from it before sand blasted out of it.

Swinging it in an arc, Jaune was shocked to see one of the sand pits raise up into a walkable pillar, hardening in the process.

A staff that can control sand?

“Tatl?” Jaune glanced at the fairy who was shocked into silence at what this weapon did, showing she knew what it was.

“The Sand Rod, I think you already figured out what it can do,” Tatl explained with the blond giving a nod. “This will be very helpful for the rest of the Canyon.”

Jaune gave a nod, placing the newly acquired Sand Rod in his bag before getting ready to play the Song of Time.

This cycle has certainly been a good one for increasing his gear and skill set, that’s for sure.

** _~Dawn of the First Day~_ **

** _-Seventy-Two Hours Remain-_ **

Jaune yawned as once more he stepped out in Termina Field, ready to start the next cycle, only to be surprised when he saw Kaepora waiting on the hollow log.

Considering how rarely he showed himself, Jaune had a feeling that this was pretty important.

The owl waited until Jaune walked over, rotating his head upside down as he did so. “Greetings Mr. Arc, or shall I call you Captain?”

“Oh not you too.” Jaune muttered, ignoring how Tatl was snickering.

Kaepora gave a low chuckle, rotating his head back to normal in the process. “All jests aside you’ve done a great deed in freeing the Graveyard from the curse.”

Just like that, Jaune felt his mood plummet. “Yeah, only for it to be back again.”

“I wouldn’t say that.”

It got quiet as Jaune gave Kaopora a bewildered look. “Come again?”

“Tell me, when you healed Darmani’s spirit, did you see his Ghost again whenever you visited the Mountains?” Kaepora asked Jaune with him thinking about that.

It was rare for him to go to the Mountains during any of the cycles due to how much he despised the cold, but whenever he did he never ran into Darmani.

Then again he never actively looked for him either.

“As powerful as your Ocarina is, not even it can bring back the dead, or their spirits when they finally pass on.” Kaepora revealed in a soft tone with Jaune feeling himself tense up.

Was he saying what he thinks he was saying?

“You mean-?” Tatl seemed to have come to the same conclusion as Jaune and spoke up. “The curse didn’t come back?”

Kaepora gave a nod, confirming that and Jaune nearly dropped at that.

Something he did wasn’t undone?

Dampe wasn’t cursed again? He was free?

He actually made a change that would never go away?

“I-.” Jaune couldn’t speak, not being able to think as the news washed over him, almost having a breakdown.

He couldn’t believe it, after having his deeds be undone for so long he didn’t think anything he did mattered.

But this… This mattered.

And it stayed.

“Wait, but what about Tael?” Tatl asked in a concerned tone. “You said it couldn’t bring back the dead, but Tael was back after dying in the first one.”

So wasn’t Kaepora contradicting himself here?! And then there were the Gorman brothers, weren’t they back?

“I said it can’t bring them back when they pass on, your brother never passed on when you restarted the cycle, same with the Gorman Brothers.” Kaepora elaborated for them. “It’s only when they pass on that it won’t work.”

“That’s… Good to know.” Jaune managed to force out, pushing the multitude of emotions he was starting to feel.

He needed to keep focused.

“At least I saved someone for good.”

“Their fate wasn’t the only one you’ve changed,” Kaepora revealed, confusing them once more. “The fates of the ones at the Ranch were changed by you taking the Garo Mask.”

‘_ Garo Mask? _’ Jaune thought now knowing what the mask he took from the Gorman Brothers was called.

“Changed how?” Jaune asked, almost afraid of the answer.

“This mask itself is special compared to the others of its kind, only one can exist, as such when you brought it back with you, you erased the one the Gorman Brothers found from time itself,” Kaepora tilted his head, gazing towards where the Ranch was. “As such the Brothers never fell to its power and lived better lives.”

And in return they never went after Romani Ranch which meant that Romani never suffered being abducted and Cremia never had to worry about them destroying her supply of milk.

This time, Jaune felt his knees buckle from the weight of this news.

Seeing that, Tatl flew and landed on his shoulder in a concerned fashion, seeing how this was affecting him.

Kaepora kept quiet, watching as Jaune tried to pull himself back together, seeing just how this journey has damaged Jaune as much as it made him stronger.

All of the trials he went through, seeing them undone, it was something that not many people can go through without breaking and this told the owl that Jaune was actually close to that point.

So he needed to hear the news that some of his actions weren’t for nothing, even if his sacrifices weren’t remembered.

It was heartbreaking to see this happen to someone so young as Kaepora remembered how full of life Jaune was upon first meeting him in the Swamp.

In a way he was a shell of his former self right now.

“I recommend you head towards the Ocean for the next Temple.” Kaepora softly suggested, once he was sure that Jaune managed to pull himself back together. “You aren’t emotionally prepared for the horrors of the Canyon yet.”

Jaune gave him a look of surprise before remembering what that hooded woman said earlier.

‘** _Even now the spirits wander in search of one who could save them._ **’

‘** _You are not strong enough to pass._ **’

‘** _If you pass as you are now, you will die._ **’

Was that what she meant?

He had no idea what to think.

Pushing himself back up to his feet, Jaune gave the owl a grateful smile. “Thank you.” He said, relieved to hear this.

It made things a bit easier.

Kaepora gave a nod before glancing at Tatl. “I trust that you’ll continue to look after him?”

“Tch, you think I would leave after coming this far?” Tatl sounded offended by the very thought. “I’m seeing this through the end with him.”

“Good, you both have an important role to play in the days to come, if you continue on your path, the fate of this land will be forever changed.” Kaepora said his last words before spreading his wings, taking flight.

Jaune watched him fly off before turning towards where the Ocean would be only for Tatl to speak up. “No, you nearly had a breakdown, we can do the temple after resting for one cycle.”

A part of Jaune wanted to argue, but he gave a nod, knowing that with the way he was right now, he needed time to relax.

Especially after what was just revealed to him.

Perhaps he could find that fishing hole in the Swamp to keep himself busy?

** _To Be Continued…_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, this monster of a chapter is finally done with 15,000 words for it, holy crap a lot has happened this chapter.
> 
> From getting new gear such as the Roc Boots and Sand Rod-let’s be honest the treasure being a damn bottle in the game was a let down so I added to it, to learning more about his Ocarina, especially considering how it doesn’t bring back spirits who pass on, such as Darmani and Mikau in the game. Just me adding a bit of lore as well as finally giving Jaune a ‘win’ if you will with his actions actually mattering in this cycle. He’s even beginning to learn more magic related stuff such as finally discovering he could use fire for more than his arrows and the beginning works of what will eventually be the Magic Armor spell
> 
> Then you have the tidbit about the descendent of Igos being alive, something I will expand upon much later and hopefully people like the change with Dampe being a lot more than he was in the game, have to admit that’s the change I’ve been debating back and forth the most in this story.
> 
> Oh and I’m thinking about doing oneshots for this story, just showing random things that Jaune does in each cycle that didn’t reach this story, what do you think of that idea?
> 
> Then we have Carock being mentioned, fun fact that was one of the bosses in Zelda II, so a bit of an easter egg there.
> 
> One more thing… SCREW THOSE WALLMASTERS! I have a seething hatred for those monsters. It’s stupid that I have a fear of them because I first played OOT when I was four, my brother had the game so I didn’t know about them and the damn thing traumatized me because of how it dropped out of nowhere. Even now in my twenties I freeze up when I see the damn thing. Come to think of it, how did the Wallmaster traumatize me when the Dead Hand just got a meh from me at that age? Looking back that's what should’ve scared me.


	16. Into the Great Bay

Skull Kid floated in place high above the Mountains in thought, feeling that something was off, leaving Tael to watch the Clock Tower.

He didn’t know what though.

For some reason, he’s been feeling a sense of deja-vu ever since he cursed that idiot kid after robbing him.

Just the thought of that kid pissed him off for some reason which was strange.

Why was he angry at him?

There was nothing he could do, he was helplessly trapped as a Deku Scrub… Yet he feels like he isn’t.

It was enough for him to check the Woodfall Temple and the Snowhead Temple only to see that Odolwa and Goht were in there, despite having the sensation that they were killed.

Why he felt that way about them and not Gyorg or Twinmold was strange.

‘ ** _What are you?_ ** ’ Skull Kid remembered those words as if he spoke them, but that wasn’t possible.

Shaking his head, Skull Kid sat down in the air, crossing his arms in thought.

Then there was Tatl, he did feel some regret at forgetting her, but he shrugged it off like he didn’t care.

It wasn’t the first time she went off on her own and she could easily handle a child Deku Scrub.

But she didn’t come back.

Like how  _ THEY _ didn’t come back.

Skull Kid frowned, anger coursing off of him as he thought about his old friends before shaking his head.

No, Tatl wasn’t like that and neither was Tael, but he wasn’t blind to how they’ve been acting strange around him ever since he got his new powers.

So what if he was getting revenge for everything that happened to him?

Okay sure he might’ve crossed the line on a few points but he cared for them, so they were safe. He didn’t do anything to them.

Just like that, the image of Tael dying went through his head and Skull Kid jerked up in surprise.

Where did that come from?!

As panicked as he was, Skull Kid froze as he swore he heard a soothing tone in his subconscious telling him that he imagined that.

There was no way he would do that to Tael… Right?

Right, he wouldn’t do that.

The eyes on his mask glowed as he grew content again, but they were fixated on the Ocean, as if something was watching what was going on there.

* * *

Jaune raised a brow as he entered the fishing hole within the Swamp area, looking around with surprise.

With just about every bit of water in this area being poisoned he was genuinely surprised to find an area of clear water, perhaps Skull Kid saw no reason to go after a fishing hole compared to everywhere else.

“So fishing huh?” Tatl once more sounded nervous. “I think I’ll stay out of reach of the water.”

“... Do the fish eat fairies too?” Jaune asked in surprise, seeing Tatl glow bright in embarrassment. “Geez, I can’t imagine having to deal with that.”

Then again back home the Grimm do the same thing, or so he believed, he didn’t know too much about them besides what they look like and how dangerous they were. The monsters here were the same way, just different.

‘ _ I wonder if the Grimm are some form of ancient evil like how this mask Skull Kid’s wearing is. _ ’ Jaune mused, trying to imagine a force controlling them.

If that was the case then take care of that force and the Grimm would disappear.

In theory at least.

But that was for another time, there were no Grimm in Termina and he was here to relax after everything that happened.

“Welcome to the Fishing Hole.” A voice called out, surprising Jaune. “Do you have your own Fishing Rod or do you need to rent one?”

Looking towards the voice, Jaune saw a man with dark olive green skin, short flaming red hair complete with a small red beard, looking at him with piercing gold eyes, wearing a simple black shirt and dark green cargo pants.

For some reason, Jaune felt on edge upon seeing this man, images of him wearing dark armor going through his mind along with an evil laugh that put terror in him and he almost drew his sword, only for the man to sigh in annoyance.

“Yes I know I’m a male Gerudo, take a picture it’ll last longer.” The man muttered, thinking that Jaune was just staring because of that anomaly.

“You’re a Gerudo?!” Tatl asked in shock while Jaune blinked.

He remembered hearing about a female only race of Pirates out in the Great Bay called the Gerudos and about a legend on a male Gerudo being born once every few centuries.

He didn’t know what to make of that.

“You didn’t know?” The man asked with a raised brow a bit surprised by that.

“No, sorry it’s just… You remind me of someone.” Jaune couldn’t help but say lamely, having no idea what just happened.

“Hm, if you say so, the name’s Ganondorf Dragmire.” The man introduced himself, holding out a hand as Jaune approached to accept the handshake, seeing how big this man was compared to him.

“Jaune Arc.”

As they shook, Jaune pushed the feelings of dread down, not wanting to do anything because so far this Ganondorf seemed nice.

“So do you have a rod?” Ganondorf asked, crossing his arms, seeing Jaune shake his head. “The price to rent one is thirty rupees, do you have enough?”

“More than enough.” Jaune said, pulling the amount out with Ganondorf giving a nod.

“Very well, normally we close in the evening, but I’m closing up in two hours because I have some business to take care of.”

Jaune smiled in appreciation and walked over and began to fish while Ganondorf put the rupees in his wallet.

“What’s wrong?” Tatl whispered, knowing that something was off with Jaune from how he was acting.

“Remember how the Ocarina showed me Epona’s Song?” Jaune whispered, earning a nod from Tatl. “I felt like the same thing was happening when I saw him.”

But he wasn’t holding his Ocarina, so why did he feel like that?

“So Male Gerudos are a thing?” Jaune asked in a low tone, not wanting the man to hear him as Tatl went to answer, only for Ganondorf to sigh.

“It’s rude to talk about someone like that.” He said making Jaune wince.

“Sorry, I don’t know anything about the Gerudo’s and I didn’t want to offend you.” Jaune apologized, earning a scoff from Ganondorf.

“Trust me it takes a lot more to offend me, to answer your question yes male Gerudo’s happen, very rarely but the Gerudo’s don’t keep them, we’re thrown out upon birth.”

Jaune felt his mouth drop open at that.

Thrown out just because you’re born a guy? That’s very messed up.

And from the anger in Ganondorf’s tone he could tell that the man was angry despite not saying he was.

Seeing his reaction, Ganondorf closed his eyes and reigned in his temper a bit because he wasn’t angry at the kid. “Still I’m luckier then most in my position, instead of dying I was adopted and I have a good thing going on here.” He said, referring to his business. “So you take the good with the bad.”

Good with the bad.

That just about sums up Jaune’s whole situation here.

So he casted the line and sat down.

Ganondorf watched, as if waiting for more questions but was genuinely surprised when they didn’t come and gave a small grunt of appreciation before he glanced up seeing the moon.

Unlike the others who would cower at it, Ganondorf just sneered at it, showing no fear whatsoever.

* * *

It was two hours later that Jaune stopped fishing, feeling like he calmed down enough from the bombshell that Kaepora dropped on him.

Enough that he was willing to risk the next Temple despite Tatl’s protests given how they were back on Epona, heading for the Great Bay.

“Tatl you know why we can’t wait, Skull Kid could be immune soon because of how much time we’ve been taking and we need to have the last two Giants free before then.” Jaune told her, seeing her wings droop, knowing he was right. “Besides I’m good at dealing with it at this point.”

If there was one thing he got a good grasp on, it was dealing with his emotions, no matter how stunted they were getting.

Tatl looked as if she wanted to disagree, knowing how Jaune pushed his emotions as far down as he could, something she knew wasn’t healthy.

But Jaune smiled at her before they ended up clearing the gateway to the entrance of the Great Bay.

Upon entering, he was rather amazed by how peaceful it looked.

How serene the area was, though his last adventure was in a graveyard, so anything would seem serene in comparison.

He could smell the salt water in the air as seagulls flew around, countless palm trees were scattered throughout the beach and the air was nice.

Not cold and not hot, just warm.

The shore stretched quite a bit in both directions, to the right it seemed to lead to two small buildings where Jaune figured he could look for some information on this area if he needed it while the left led to a series of caves.

Then there was a building built in the ocean itself with a platform right on the water, across from the beach, Jaune could make out an Owl Statue on the platform which was a relief.

That meant another place to teleport.

“What’s that?” Tatl asked in confusion, flying a bit to the left. “There in the water!”

Following her, Jaune could barely make out a shape in the water, countless seagulls flying around it, obviously curious in whatever that shape was.

Not even thinking, Jaune got off of Epona and ran out into the water, nearly flinching at the heat that could be felt from the ocean.

It was like a sauna.

Ignoring that, Jaune dove in and swam out towards the shape, scaring the seagulls away in the process before seeing what he knew had to be a Zora.

The first official Zora he’s ever seen.

Floating on its back, barely breathing this Zora had pale bluish green skin that seemed to darken at the limbs, the pale parts being in the center of the body, he could see webbed toes and enormous fins on its arms and ankles, almost lifeless coal black eyes opened up and peered at him as he got closer showing that it wasn’t too late.

His body was covered in injuries and looked like he was impaled in several different places with parts of the water around him red to show blood.

So many injuries, it was amazing he was still alive.

“Hang on.” Jaune said, grabbing his arm as he began to swim back to the shore.

“No,” The Zora whispered, trying to struggle but not having the energy to do so. “Need… To go.”

“Just save your strength.” Jaune told him, now making it to the shallow end where he could put his feet on the ground, helping the Zora up.

Jaune was then surprised when the Zora lightly pushed him away, standing on his own power, taking step after step only to collapse after at least four steps.

“Heh, so this is where it ends.” The Zora whispered as Jaune dug into his bag and pulled out a Red Potion. “No more encores.”

“Here, this should help.” Jaune said, holding it out and the Zora reached out but his hand fell short as he coughed.

“Don’t bother, I already lost too much blood.” The Zora gave a small smile to show his appreciation.

‘ _ Could I have prevented this? _ ’ Jaune thought, not wanting to see someone else die in front of him.

“This isn't your fault.” The Zora seemed to have caught on to what Jaune was thinking before giving a pained chuckle at the blond’s surprise. “Don’t look so surprised, it’s written all on your face.”

His body shook as he gave a raspy cough.

“There has to be something we can do.” Jaune pleaded, noting that Tatl kept quiet, showing that the fairy had already accepted that there was nothing they could do for the Zora.

“Heh, I appreciate the sentiment, perhaps if we met earlier we could’ve been friends.” The Zora remarked, his breathing getting shallow. “My name is Mikau, I am-... I was the Guitarist for a Zora Band.”

Attempting to push himself up despite Jaune’s protests, Mikau found the strength to get to his feet only to fall to one knee.

Despite how he was literally at death’s door, he wanted to pass on his feet rather than laying in the sand.

Seeing that, Jaune hesitated before helping him up and walking Mikau over to the nearby palm tree where he could stand on his feet against it. “Thank you.” Mikau said in a grateful tone. “... Will you listen to my final message?”

The resignation in Mikau’s eyes killed any form of resistance from Jaune who still wanted to try and help him.

So he steeled himself and gave a nod, seeing the resignation turn to relief.

“The Carnival, our band was supposed to play there,” Mikau’s words made Jaune’s eyes widen as he remembered how Ingo Gorman was in charge of a band that would never show up. “People always lined up to see us play but Lulu, our vocalist lost her voice.”

The sorrow was evident from how he said Lulu’s name, in a whisper that spoke volumes of how much she meant to him.

“Her eggs… Our eggs were stolen by the Gerudo Pirates.” Mikau continued, his sorrow turning into rage. “Because of her grief, she couldn’t speak, and our children were lost to us and the Great Bay has been becoming more dangerous with every passing day.”

Now Jaune was beginning to get the picture as he pushed down the anger that was flaring up at hearing how these Gerudo Pirates stole unborn children.

“They did this to you.” Jaune said, referring to the wounds as Mikau grimaced before giving a nod.

“I tried to get them, but I wasn’t strong enough.” Mikau’s left hand formed a fist that weakly hit the tree he was leaning against. “What good is a father who can’t protect their own children?!”

His rage disappeared as he coughed, nearly falling over, this time blood came out of his mouth.

“I’m dying, but I won’t be in peace, they need to be saved.” Mikau looked at Jaune with a pleading look. “I know it’s a lot to ask of you, but please… Save them.”

With that last request, whatever strength Mikau had faded as he fell to the ground, barely breathing.

“Please.” Mikau whispered, grief in his tone. “Heal my soul.”

Despite how Mikau probably meant that in a different way, Jaune stiffened up as he thought about Darmani’s spirit and came to a realization on what he needed to do.

“Mikau, I have a way to heal your soul.” Jaune said, pulling out his Ocarina with Tatl catching on to what his plan was. “And I promise I’ll save your kids.”

Whether or not it gets undone, he didn’t care, after hearing his last request he would rather be damned then ignore it.

And he never goes back on his word.

Despite the anguish he was feeling, Mikau gave a small smile to show his appreciation. “Thank you.” He whispered before Jaune began to play the Song of Healing, the sorrowful melody reaching his soul.

Mikau felt like he was floating in an abyss with the song playing in the background, his mind thinking on the what if’s of his decisions, on the future he won’t be a part of, but more importantly he thought of her.

Of his loved one Lulu, on how he only added to her pain in his attempt to get their children back.

“I’m sorry.” Mikau whispered, knowing that the consequence of his recent actions only made things worse. “I wish I could still be a part of your life.”

He held on for as long as he could with his injuries, trying desperately to reach for help, but with each passing moment his willpower faded as everything became too much to bear.

And now here he was, leaving his loved ones alone. To never see his children grow up. To never be a part of their lives as they will never know their father.

He wanted to scream, to hit something, say how unfair it was, but Mikau knew that nothing would change it.

“Lulu.” Mikau whispered once more only to be surprised by hearing a serene voice.

“I’m here Mikau.” Eyes widening as he fell into the abyss, Mikau turned to see Lulu standing right there, in the blue dress she always wore for her performances.

“Y-You’re talking?” Mikau asked, not caring if this was just a figment of his imagination as he was passing on.

Even if it was a way for him to cope with his own death, it was still her, her beautiful voice, the smile that brightened every day he’s seen it. The elegance she showed in even the smallest of things. Along with a laugh that would melt the coldest of hearts.

Forcing himself not to cry, Mikau moved until he nearly fell over only for Lulu to catch him. “I’m sorry I failed.” He whispered as she embraced him, the Song of Healing becoming more prominent in the background. “I wasn’t strong enough.”

He failed her. He failed his unborn children.

“You’ve shown more strength than any Zora could.” Lulu told him, lightly caressing the back of his head in a soothing manner. “More strength than anyone could’ve asked of you.”

Mikau tightened his hold on her, not wanting to lose her as he was fading. “I love you.” He whispered, earning a smile from her.

“And I love you, now come, they’re waiting.”

Feeling confused, Mikau looked around to see his bandmates all waiting with their instruments, Ingo standing to the side with a smile as the Terminan was the one who brought their band together in the first place and tears began to stream down his eyes, knowing that he was truly leaving them.

He left them to handle this himself, despite knowing that they would’ve followed him into the jaws of death if he asked them before he took a step towards them, but then he remembered Jaune’s face and glanced back.

This boy had no reason to do any of this, to heal his soul and to take his burden.

While most people would call his promise an empty one, Mikau had a feeling that somehow this boy would find a way to keep it.

“Thank you.” He said knowing that somehow Jaune was listening, focusing as he wanted to leave a bit of his strength for the boy to make use of.

He smiled once more as he faded away, passing on to the next life.

Jaune nearly collapsed, having seen all of that, feeling all of Mikau’s emotions throughout the song as like last time, tears were streaming down his face while in Mikau’s place was a Zora Mask containing his power.

Another transformation mask created from the dead soul of someone who lost so much. The spirit of a legendary Guitarist

Did he have any right to use that power like this? Was he really helping them pass on or did he just trap them?

Jaune didn’t have any answers to that question as his shoulders shook while Tatl kept quiet, lightly touching his cheek in a way of showing support.

Reaching out, Jaune grabbed the newly acquired Zora Mask, but instead of putting it on, he turned and walked away from the water.

Tatl was rather concerned by that given how Jaune was always adamant about keeping his promises despite how poorly timed they were and she knew that playing the Song of Healing for something like this only added to the burden he was feeling.

The concern gave away to surprise as he pulled out the Sand Rod and manipulated a bit of the sand to form a gravestone, hardening it into stone and she realized what he was doing.

Even though there was no body, Jaune was creating a grave for Mikau.

So she kept silent as he worked on it, finishing with Mikau’s name carved into it before he gave a small bow of respect.

They just stayed there in silence despite how the world kept moving on, ignoring the tragedy that took place before Tatl spoke up.

“I know this isn’t the right time to say this, but at least we have a way to go across the ocean now.” Tatl said in a hesitant tone, not sure how to say it. “If we find the temple after saving his kids, then at least he didn’t die in vain.”

Jaune gave a hollow laugh, wishing that they could’ve prevented this outright but he knew that she was right.

And now Mikau’s suffering was over because he moved on, which meant that he won’t be here repeatedly suffering like he has been every time Jaune played the Song of Time.

The thought of how many times he suffered and died throughout the many cycles made Jaune want to grit his teeth.

“The temple isn’t our priority right now.” Jaune told her despite knowing that it was the whole reason they came to the Great Bay in the first place. “We can do that next cycle, right now all that matters is saving Mikau’s children.”

The rest can wait until that’s done with.

Tatl gave a nod of agreement as Jaune finally took the Zora Mask out of his bag, grimacing as he knew what was coming before placing it on his face where it latched on and for the third time he felt an immense pain as his soul intertwined with what was left of Mikau’s.

Trying to keep silent, Jaune was unable to do so as he let out a scream of agony before in a bright light he stood there as a Zora with pale blue skin, wearing nothing but black shorts and a pair of boots, the fin on the back of his head black like the hood of his hoodie while his eyes were blue.

“Man that’s always painful.” Jaune muttered, rubbing the back of his neck to try and relieve some of the pain that he was still feeling. “How bad did I scream?”

“It sounded worse then the Goron one.” Tatl flew around Jaune, looking over his Zora form that surprisingly didn’t have any of his scars, but he did have the toned muscle. “So… How different do you feel?”

It seemed she was expecting a different personality much like his other transformations.

Looking at his hands before clenching them, Jaune gained a look of determination. “That doesn’t matter, we have children to save.”

Mikau’s memories showed him exactly where the Gerudo Fortress was, so he knew where he needed to go.

Once that was done he couldn’t wait to see Lulu-hold up!

Shaking his head, Jaune realized that he was still feeling what Mikau felt and grimaced.

Hopefully he can get it under control before seeing Lulu after saving their children… Saving her children!

“Come on.” Jaune said, about to walk into the water before realizing a potential problem. “Uh how do we get you through the water?”

Wouldn’t Tatl drown?

“I’ll just stay above the water and follow you.”

As Tatl flew off, Jaune noted how slippery his hand was and looked at it in wonder given the different texture and gave a low chuckle.

He was born made of flesh and bone, but he also can turn into a creature made of wood, a rock-like species and now an aquatic race that can breathe underwater and on land.

It was so interesting to see these different races, to see how different they are from how he lived for most of his life. To see what it’s like to fly with Deku Flowers or to roll around like a Goron.

To do those things, to become them and walk a mile in their shoes, it puts a lot of things into perspective, especially with the muscle memory and the instincts that show. Along with their fighting styles.

His Deku Form was that of a child so not much of a fighting style, but it was agile and the best one to use for his magic-wait can he use the fire with his snot bubble? He needs to test that. But it wasn’t the best for taking hits and was still too young to really use a weapon.

His Goron Form uses brute strength alone and the overwhelming power of his hammer to decimate monsters. It’s his slowest form unless he’s rolling but can tank a lot of hits that he couldn’t before. When he’s fighting without the hammer however there seems to be a mix of boxing with wrestling grapples added in there.

This form was another one he needed to get a feel for and train up to be on par with the others and he couldn’t wait to see what it could do. How different it would be to the others.

Taking a deep breath, Jaune noted how strange that in itself felt.

Yes he could still breathe, but he also felt an empty sensation, different from Humans, Deku and Gorons.

The air felt dry compared to before.

Was it because of the gills?

Feeling rather curious, Jaune finally ran into the water and dove in, the instincts of the Zora taking over with him swimming as if he’s done it his whole life. The fins on his body were what helped him the most as they were keeping him balanced while he swam up and down like a worm, going through the murky like a bullet exiting a gun.

Jaune however held his breath on instinct as he swam before he gasped for air and suddenly it felt right as water went in the gills.

There was no longer a dry sensation when he breathed.

Twirling in the water as he was near the platform where the house in the middle of the water was, Jaune suddenly shot upwards, shooting out of the water like a dolphin where he spun around, showing off a bit before diving back in, unable to stop the laugh.

This was amazing.

The way he can move underwater without the fear of drowning.

It just felt right.

“You seem to be having fun.” Tatl spoke up from above the water with Jaune actually hearing her surprisingly, but there was amusement in her tone.

Along with relief as he was actually laughing and smiling.

A real smile compared to the last few cycles.

It was something he needed.

“I am.” Jaune spoke underwater, a bit surprised that he was able to do that with his voice sounding a little deeper when it was beneath the water. “I feel like I’m in my element.”

Even if it really wasn’t his but he didn’t care.

Once more jumping out of the water, Jaune did a flip before landing and coming to a stop, willing himself to sink to the bottom where he began to do a few mock punches below the ocean.

As he did that, his fins on his arms enlarged much to his surprise with him bringing his left arm up to his face to examine them.

Running a finger on the fins, Jaune was amazed at how sharp they were and grinned.

Blades on the arms? Nice.

Now adding in some of his sword training with his punches, Jaune did something he didn’t mean to do on instinct.

He fired the fins off of his arms as they swung around in the water before returning to him like a boomerang.

These fins were really versatile.

“Okay, now what does my magic do in this form?” Jaune muttered knowing it was the snot bubble for the Deku and the spikes for the Goron.

Focusing on his magic, Jaune was unprepared when blue electricity surged around him like a shield, slicing into a small rock nearby showing that it could be used for offense and defense.

Quickly stopping it, Jaune tilted his head before an idea came to him and he took off swimming while activating his magic, spinning to where this blue electricity swirled with him like a spinning harpoon.

Not only that but it made him swim even faster.

Doing a small flip as he stopped, Jaune figured he had a handle on what he can do for now.

So he jumped out of the water, landing on the platform next to the owl statue where he could see Epona waiting for him on the beach.

Jaune waved at her with the mare snorting before she took off, knowing that she wouldn’t be much help in this area.

Seeing Epona leave, Jaune took the Zora Mask off of his face and put it in his bag, grinning like a kid at having another versatile power in his arsenal.

A far cry from how he only had Crocea Mors and the Ocarina back when he thought it was only an heirloom.

Considering he was no longer in the water, Tatl flew down in a curious manner. “You done showing off, Deku Boy?”

“Just getting used to that form.” Jaune denied that he was showing off before he began to climb the ladder. “Now we need to get more information before we get to saving Mikau’s children.”

And if he gets information on the Great Bay Temple, then that’s an added bonus.

Making it to the upper platform, Jaune got a good look at the rather small metal building with only one door and a metal hook sticking out of the top.

He could also see something in the distance surrounded by what looked to be a twister staying in place.

While he glanced at that place curiously, Jaune turned his attention back to the building he was at, now reading the sign.

‘ ** _Marine Research Lab. Researching water quality and marine life-forms in the Great Bay._ ** ’

Sounds like the perfect place to get information on what’s happening here.

So he knocked on the door and before long it opened to show an elderly man with a hunchback, wearing a blue cloak and a blue hat over his balding head with tufts of grey hair sticking out from both sides of his head, tilting his head as his crazed eyes scanned over him before he gave a welcoming smile, showing some rather crooked teeth.

“Hello there, what brings you to my lab?” The man asked curiously showing that despite his crazed eyes he was rather friendly. “If it’s to see the Zora’s hatch then I’m afraid you’re out of luck, the Zora’s are rather late in delivering them.”

“Zora hatch?” Jaune feigned ignorance on knowing about the eggs as the man sighed.

“It’s truly a wonderful experience to see this, it takes those eggs about one to three days to hatch once they’re laid.” The man explained surprising Jaune who wasn’ expecting that. “But if they aren’t kept in my aquarium until then they may die.”

‘ _ So if I save the eggs I need to bring them here. _ ’ Jaune realized, crossing his arms in thought.

The man opened the door further to let Jaune in and he could see the inside of the lab seeing the entire room was painted blue with a large aquarium in the back, some books and papers scattered throughout the place and lab equipment near the end of the wall.

“Why would the eggs die if they’re not in the aquarium?” Tatl asked curiously, seeing the man approaching a nearby book to write in it.

“It’s because of how the temperature in the ocean is rising.” The man explained with Jaune and Tatl now getting it. “Newborn Zora’s won’t be able to survive in those conditions and are unable to breathe on land until they’re a few years older. A Zora named Mikau came to me to request the use of my tank. In exchange I get to witness how Zora’s grow which will help with my studies. But for him to be late, I wonder if something happened at Zora Hall.”

“Zora Hall?” Jaune remembered how he found information about the swamp in Deku Palace and Snowhead in Goron City.

So chances are he’ll find more info at this Zora Hall.

“It’s where all of the Zora’s live, good luck getting to it because you need a boat-.” The man stopped as a thought just occurred to him and he turned to study Jaune curiously.

“Is something wrong?” Jaune asked curiously, subconsciously taking a step back.

“We’re in the middle of the ocean and you’re dry.” The man pointed out with a frown. “I didn’t see a raft or a boat when I let you in, so how are you dry?”

“I have magic.” Jaune revealed with a shrug given how it’s common knowledge, focusing as he held his foot up to have it catch aflame before putting it out much to the man’s surprise. “I just used it to dry myself.”

Better saying that then trying to explain turning into a Zora.

“I see.” The man looked very interested in the thought of magic but putting it in the back of his mind as he had a lot to prepare for. “Well if you ever find your way to Zora Hall do you mind asking what’s going on for me?”

He was getting worried for them at this point.

“I can, which way is it?”

“It’s down the beach line to the south and in the ocean.” The man pointed in the direction that Jaune needed to take. “While they live out there, the Hall has land segments that allow for visitors to go in there.”

“Thank you uh-.” Jaune just now realized he didn’t have this man’s name.

“Call me Mizuumi,” The Professor chuckled at how Jaune cut himself off. “And you are?”

“Jaune, and this is Tatl.” Jaune introduced himself while Tatl moved from side to side to imitate a wave.

“A pleasure and thank you.” Professor Mizuumi said, giving a nod while Jaune left the lab.

* * *

As Jaune left to go towards Zora Hall however, someone was entering the Great Bay with a frown on his face, having heard rumors of what the Gerudo Pirates have been doing.

So he was going to be doing what his mothers would say to be the stupidest thing anyone in his position would do, knowing that this could very well kill him.

But he couldn’t stand by while this was happening.

He might’ve been thrown out, but he was still a Gerudo.

So with a determined look, Ganondorf began his walk towards where the fortress was, prepared for what would be the fight of his life.

* * *

“I think I see it.” Tatl called out after a good few minutes of walking down the beach line, Jaune glancing in the way she was looking.

It had to be it.

It was a mass of rock in the distance, not that far off from the beach shore with a pretty big column of rock sticking straight up in the middle with the end resembling a fish tail.

Tilting his head to the side, Jaune looked around before putting the Zora Mask on and once he transformed he felt a surge of familiarity within that place and smiled.

That was it.

“I’ll swim over there while you fly?” Jaune offered with Tatl giving a nod.

“Race ya Deku Head.” Tatl suddenly took off with Jaune being caught off guard before a competitive look overcame his face as he laughed.

“No fair!” He exclaimed, running and diving in to swim over there as fast as he could.

Though there seemed to be some sort of tube shaped monster at the entrance that looked like it was made of playdough.

Curiously tilting his head, Jaune watched as a fish tried to swim past only to be sucked in and eaten by this monster.

Not liking that, Jaune just fired his fins and killed it before going in to discover that the island that could be seen was more of a protective barrier to the real entrance which resembled the mouth of a giant fish with rows of sharp teeth.

Instead of entering, Jaune read the sign.

‘Zora Hall ahead. Now Rehearsing: The Zora Band with the deep sea sound. The Indigo-Gos!’

Oh right, Mikau said he was a guitarist-.

…

He basically stole the identity of a well known Zora much like he did with Darmani didn’t he?

Great, so he was about to impersonate another dead guy while he was here.

As much as he didn’t like that, Jaune took a deep breath and began to let Mikau’s instincts take hold here.

So he stepped in and swam to the surface, coming out in a green colored hallway that seemed to have sloped upwards.

Following it, Jaune had to work not to stare at the beauty of this place.

The hallway led to the main room of Zora Hall where a spectacular pool of water was in the very center where he could see a giant clam on the center of the pool, opened up like a stage for a show, four waterfalls pouring down behind it to give the area a very nice look.

Countless Zora’s were walking around, conversing, enjoying the water, cleaning the stage as if setting it up for something else.

Even the air was nice to breathe in as there was water in the air unlike the beach which was dry.

He could just stand here and stare for hours because he’s never seen anything like this place.

Looking around as he walked, one of the female Zora’s on the pool side waved to him. “Hey Mikau, good luck at the concert.” She called out as Jaune gave a small smile of appreciation to hide his small freakout. “I’m looking forward to the rehearsal.”

He really hoped that he didn’t have to play a concert to keep up appearances.

Jaune barely got away with pretending to be Darmani with knowing the Goron’s Lullaby, he doubted he could get away with playing a concert as Mikau.

Not wanting to speak with anyone else, Jaune moved on, keeping an eye out for Tatl only for a male Zora to pass by him, stopping however when he recognized Jaune’s form. “Oh hey Mikau trying out a new look?”

“Uh yes?” Jaune tried to play it off. “Figured it would add a bit to the show.”

“Neat, speaking of which, what’s going on with the rehearsal? It was supposed to begin earlier but the other band members are shut in their room.” The Zora pointed out as Jaune internally panicked. “And Lulu is hanging out at the lone island in the back, what’s going on?”

Seeing as how no one knew, Jaune knew he should keep it a secret. “I can’t really say, it’s more of a personal issue but we’re trying to resolve it.” Jaune told him as the Zora looked rather dissatisfied with the answer but accepted it.

“Well hope you get it done, the concert is in two days you guys need to practice.”

Seeing him leave, Jaune sighed only to see Tatl finally catch up. “Too slow.” Jaune teased with a grin as Tatl grumbled.

“You try to navigate around here without swimming, it’s not as easy as it looks.” She muttered as Jaune snickered. “Find anything.”

“Just some basic information on where the band is, nothing on the eggs or the temple, you?”

“Uh I think I found the temple.” Tatl’s sentence made Jaune’s eyes widen. “Follow me.”

* * *

Eventually, Jaune found himself on the back area of the structure where one could see a small island with two palm trees a short distance from the structure but beyond that one could see the structure surrounded by the twister, but it was clearer now, in the shape of a massive fish.

Tilting his head, he saw Tatl fly towards a sign, but someone else caught Jaune’s attention.

It was a female Zora wearing a blue dress, her head in the shape of a hammerhead instead of the fins the other Zora’s had, clasping her hands in front of her with a look of sadness and misery on her face, wing like fins drooping down her back.

Jaune stared as deep regret overtook him, wanting nothing more than to comfort her and that was when he knew.

This was Lulu.

Mikau’s loved one.

She didn’t seem to see him and Jaune had to force down every bit of emotion he was feeling because it wasn’t his.

He wasn’t Mikau and he knew it would be an insult to his memory if he tried to pretend to be him to comfort her and telling her that Mikau passed as she was mourning her eggs would make things worse.

So as quietly as he could, he walked by.

Thankfully she didn’t look up as Jaune made it to Tatl, reading the sign.

‘ ** _Great Bay Temple ahead. Swimming prohibited due to murky water._ ** ’

Looking from the sign to the structure surrounded by the twister, Jaune felt his throat go dry in realization.

They did find the temple.

That was great, they knew exactly where it was.

But he had no idea how to get there.

He could try swimming, but the twister could affect him while he was underwater and that’s if he could get through the murky water.

Mikau’s memories seemed to have kicked in with him seeing images of the murky water and knew it would be impossible to go through that.

“Any ideas?” Tatl asked, glancing at Jaune who was deep in thought.

“We can’t get there, so we need to do what we usually do.” Jaune said, taking a gamble that their tendency to helping others could lead to a way to the temple.

It did for the first two.

Besides he still has his promise to Mikau to keep.

** _To Be Continued…_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright another chapter posted so soon after the last one? Consider it an early Christmas gift to everyone as a lot has happened. Not as long as the last chapter but I wanted to get this chapter out sooner.
> 
> A small interlude with Skull Kid, showing a lot of things that haven’t been shown before along with mother freaking Ganondorf appearing in this fic using the thrown out content of him being the owner of the Fishing Hole.
> 
> Did anyone expect that? Unlike the actual Ganondorf, the Termina version is not that bad of a guy, most likely because there was no Demise in Termina so there was no curse of hatred that would manifest into him. I have a big plan for him in this cycle and I hope you’re all looking forward to it as I am. As I changed it to where unlike Hyrule where the Male Gerudo would be made King, in Termina however they’re thrown out, which honestly did this Ganondorf a lot of good as he was found by the people who raised him-those who know his family in OoT will easily see who his ‘Mothers’ are.
> 
> Then we finally have the Zora Form along with me taking liberties with the scene you would see with helping Mikau pass on along with me using the headcanon of Mikau being the father of the eggs. I wanted to make it special because it is the last time the Song of Healing was used like that.


End file.
